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LABRADOR 


A  SKETCH  OF 


ITS  PEOPLES,  ITS  INDUSTRIES  AND  ITS 

NATURAL  HISTORY, 


WINFRID  ALDEN  STEARNS. 


BOSTON : 

LEE  AND  SHEPARD,  47  FRANKLIN  STREET 

NEW  YORK:  CHARLES  T.  DILLINGHAM. 

1884. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1883, 

BY    W.    A.    STEARNS, 

in   the    Office    of   the    Librarian   of  Congress,    at   Washington. 


Printed  at  Office  of  Salem  Press, 
Salem,  Mass. 


PREFACE. 


In  presenting  to  the  public  the  following  journal  sketches  of  the 
country  of  which  they  treat,  the  thought  that  I  am  writing  of  a 
region  so  new  and  so  little  known,  though  so  near  to  us,  together 
with  the  pleasure  which  I  have  experienced  both  in  my  travels  and 
in  the  preparation  of  this  account  of  them,  will  furnish  a  sufficient 
excuse  for  the  undertaking.  Although  so  little  has  been  known  or 
written  about  Labrador,  yet  it  is  a  region  not  a  thousand  miles 
away  from  us,  and  one  which  bears  a  most  important  relation  to 
the  fishing  interests  of  this  continent. 

The  knowledge  of  this  region,  which  is  within  reach  of  the  pub- 
lic, is  to  be  found  only  in  the  pages  of  an  old-fashioned  document, 
of  two  volumes,  now  out  of  print,  and  almost  unknown  save  to 
large  libraries,  entitled  ''Cartwright's  Journal ;"  in  Hind's  "Labrador 
Peninsula,"  2  vols.,  and  in  occasional  articles  in  some  magazine  or 
newspaper.  If  I  have  added  some  new  and  interesting  matter  to 
our  present  knowledge  of  this  subject,  my  labors  will  not  have 
been  in  vain. 

My  first  trip  to  Labrador  was  during  the  summer  of  1875,  when 
I  collected  largely  in  all  the  branches  of  Natural  History,  and  es- 
pecially in  Botany,  finding,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Rev.  I\Ir. 
Butler,  the  then  missionary  to  this  region,  many  new  and  rare 
plants.  This  number  has  since  been  enlarged  and  a  catalogue  of 
them,  as  of  collections  in  several  other  l^ranches  of  Natural  History, 
published  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Report  of  the  National 
Museum,  at  Washington.     In  September,  1S80,  I  again  visited  the 

(ill) 


iv  PREFACE. 


coast  and  remained  studying  the  region  and  collecting  until  Sep- 
tember, 1 88 1.  During  this  time  I  had  abundant  opportunity  for 
investigation.  In  the  summer  of  1882  I  made  my  third  trip, 
starting  from  Boston  with  a  company  of  about  a  dozen  fellow- 
voyagers,  and  proceeded  nearly  to  Harrison  Inlet. 

I  would  tender  most  cordial  thanks  to  several  of  the  officers  in 
charge  of  various  posts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  where  I 
visited,  who  gave  me  much  help  in  my  investigations  :  as  also  the 
courteous  Magistrate  at  Bonne  Esperance,  Mr.  Wm.  H.  Whiteley, 
with  whom  I  spent  a  great  pait  of  my  time  while  on  the  coast. 

Hoping  that  there  may  be  found  enough  of  value  and  interest 
to  counterbalance  the  many  too  obvious  defects,  I  submit  these 
pages  to  those  who  may  be  interested  in  such  researches. 

Respectfully, 

WiNFRiD  A.  Stearns. 
Amherst,  July  14,  1884. 


CONTENTS. 


Preface 
Introduction 


PAGE 

iii 
1-7 


CHAPTER   I. 

physk:al  geography   of   region. 

Survey  of  Labrador  —  Elementary  physics  —  Physical  geography  9-26 

CHAPTER   H. 

STARTING    ON    THE    JOURNEY. 

Trip  to  Labrador  —  Arrival  at  Montreal  —  Arrival  at  Quebec  and 

description  of  the  city  -...._.       27-38 

CHAPTER    HI. 

QUEBEC    TO    GREEN    ISLAND. 

Our  stay  in  Quebec  —  Starting  for  Berthier  —  Berthier  —  Off  for  Lab- 
rador —  Bunking  in  —  Island  of  Orleans  —  Islands  and  chan- 
nels —  Sunday  —  Other  islands  —  The  Saguenay  —  Fog  again         39-5 1 

CHAPTER   IV. 

GREEN    ISLAND    TO     BONNE     ESPERANCE. 

The  weather  —  Beluga  horealis  and  other  huge  animals  —  A 
sundog  —  Birds  —  The  rusty  blackbird  —  Bradore  hills  —  Vari- 
eties of  rocks  —  Coast  line  about  St.  Augustine  —  Reaching 
Bonne  Esperance  —  Old  Fort  island  —  Eider  ducks  —  Other 
birds  —  Garden  vegetables  —  Hay  —  Raised  beaches  —  Labra- 
dor dogs  —  Searching  for  driftwood  ....  52-66 

CHAPTER   V. 

BO^NE     ESPERANCE. 

Bonne  Esperance  —  Esquimaux  river  and  island  —  Caribou  island  — 
Entering  Bonne  Esperance  Harbor  —  Vessels  in  the  harbor  — 
Their  nationality  —  Activity  of  place  —  Religious  character  of 
people  —  Chapel  and  Mission  house  —  Residence  of  Mr. 
Whiteley,  magistrate  —  Nescopies  —  Store  and  shop  provisions 
—  Money  —  Trade  —  A  trading  story  ...         -       67-75 

(v) 


vi  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

CHAPTER  VI. 

NATURAL    HISTORY  :     TOPOGRAPHY     OF    COUNTRY. 

Raspberries  —  Weather  —  Hudsonian  chickadee  and  other  birds  — 
Black  fly  —  Topography  of  cauntry  —  Old  Fort  bay,  physical 
features  and  surroundings  —  Superstitions  concerning  the  raven       76-96 

CHAPTER   VH. 

OLD     FORT  :     INVESTIGATIONS. 

Indian  tents  —  New  fields  for  research  —  Visit  to  the  Indians  — 
Seals'  flesh  —  Dogskin  boots  —  Cattle  food  in  hard  winters  — 
Coptis  trifolia  —  Spruce  partridge  —  Inland  —  Hypothesis  of 
Aurora  —  Little  auk  —  Signs  of  a  wreck  —  Ascent  of  western 
arm  of  the  bay  —  Wreck  of  the  Edward  Cardwell  —  Picking  up 
lumber  —  First  snowstorm  of  the  winter  ....     97-118 

CHAPTER   VHI. 

A     LABRADOR     HOME. 

A  Labrador  home  —  Houses  —  Where  erected  —  Stage  —  Shop  — 
Stable  —  The  house  —  Papering  —  Family  —  Occupation  of  its 
members  —  Out-of-door  life  ......  119-131 

CHAPTER   IX. 

A     GALE  :     KOINIATIK,  RACKETS,  ETC. 

Dinner  off  fresh  meat  —  Credit  and  shiftlessness  —  A  Labrador  snow- 
storm —  Wind  —  Preparing  for  storm  —  Storming  hard  —  Fire- 
wood —  Storm  increases  —  Sleepless  night  —  Another  day  of  it 
—  A  grand  sight  —  Violence  of  wind  and  wave  —  Destruction 
of  stage  —  Calmer  weather — Beautiful  ice  scene  —  End  of 
storm  —  Thanksgiving  day —  Komatiks  and  rackets  -         -   1 32-15 1 

CHAPTER   X. 

WINTER  SCENES  AND  OCCUPATION  OF  PEOPLE. 

Trip  up  the  river  to  the  mission  —  Ice  pictures  —  Bad  walking  — 
To  the  old  l''ort — New  scenes  and  bad  walking  —  Pleasant 
Sunday  —  The  return  —  Journal  —  A  komatik  ride  —  Christmas 
gathering  —  Wood  cutting  —  Work  for  the  evenings  —  Making 
sealskin  boots,  mittens,  and  other  needful  and  fancy  work  -  152-171 


CONTENTS.  vii 


PAGE 

CHAPTER   XL 

WINTER    SCENES    AND    AMUSEMENTS. 

New  Year's  day  —  How  to  walk  on  rackets  —  "  Fish,  dogs,  and 
seal,"  the  general  topics  of  conversation  —  Obtaining  skeletons 

—  Larch  poultices —  "Small  talk"  —  Low  temperature  —  Deer 
stories  —  Trapping  —  Indians  —  Up  the  river  —  At  the  mission 

—  Harnessing  the  puppies  —  A  racket  walk  ...  172-190 

CHAPTER  Xn. 

OLD     FORT    TO     l'aNSE    AMOUR. 

80°  in  winter  —  Trip  eastward  —  Starting  —  Esquimaux  river^  and 
island  —  Salmon  bay  —  Bradore  bay  —  Caribou  island  —  Five 
leagues  —  Middle  bay  —  Belles  Amour  —  Over  Bradore  hills  — 
L'Anse  Dunes  —  Blanc  Sablon  —  LAnse  Coteau —  LAnse 
Clair  —  Forteau  —  Amour  191-213 

CHAPTER  XHL 

A    TRAMPING    EXPEDITION. 

Canadian  porcupine  —  Picking  fall  berries  in  spring  —  Carrying 
wood  to  summer  quarters  —  Anticipating  Fourth  of  July  —  Sum- 
mer quarters  in  winter  —  Capsized  —  Fox  hunt  on  rackets  —  A 
mile  of  soft  snow  without  rackets  .....  214-220 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

MOVING    OUT. 

Preparing  the  summer  house  to  live  in  —  Moving  out  —  A  spring 
rescue  —  Seals  on  ice  —  Larks —  A  home  scene  —  Spring  duck 
shooting  —  Repairing  the  boats  —  Visit  to  the  Indians  —  Indian 
canoes  —  Netting  nets  —  Labrador  mail  —  Natural  scenery  of 
Labrador  —  Repairing  canoes  —  Visit  to  Esquimaux  graves  — 
Ornithological  notes         -..-....  221-238 

CHAPTER   XV. 

FROM  BLANC  SABLON  TO  MINGAN. 

Blanc  Sablon  again  — Northern  Hmits  of  the  bittern —  Return  along 
the  coast  of  Natashquan  —  Spring  scene  in  Red  bay  —  Other 
places  —  St.  Mary  islands  —  Cormorants  —  At  Natashquan  — 
Rambles  about  the  place  —  Appearance  of  the  birds  —  The 
dark  day  —  Arrival  at  Mingan 239-253 


viii  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

MINGAN    TO    OLD     FORT    ISLAND    AGAIN. 

Mingan  and  surroundings —  Hudson's  Bay  Companies'  buildings  — 
Mingan  river  —  Indians  of  this  region,  their  habits,  reUgion,  etc. 
— Montagnais  and  Nascopies  —  The  Indian  trade  at  the  various 
places  along  the  north  shore — Romaine  or  Olomanosheebo  — 
Natashquan  again  —  French  steamer  and  salmon  freezing  — 
Jewelry  peddler  —  Agwanus,  Nabasippi  —  Terns  and  gulls — Cod 
fish  "  schooling  " —  Esquimaux  Point  —  Indian  names,  etc. :  St. 
Genevieve  island,  Watcheeshoo,  Manicouagan,  Saddle  Hill, 
Mt.  St.  John,  Washatnagunashka  bay,  Mushkoniatawee,  Pash- 
asheeboo,  Peashtebai  —  Shooting  at  the  Fox  islands  —  Mutton 
bay.  Great  Mecattina  islands  —  Old  Fort  island  again  at  last  254-272 

CHAPTER   XVII. 

HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

Affairs  at  Old  Fort  Island  —  The  fishing  season  —  Thunder   storm 

—  Arrival  of  vessel  which  is  to  take  us  home  —  Our  trip  in  her 
to  L'Anse  Loup  —  Scenes  at  intervening  places  —  Off  for  home 

—  Double  reefed  fore   and   main   sails  —  Island   of  Anticosti 

—  A  hurricane  —  Quebec  and  home         -----  273-279 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THIRD    TRIP   TO    LABRADOR. 

Third  voyage  :  summer  of  '82  —  Puffin-shooting  —  Dredging  —  Bad 
weather  —  Main  boom  breaks  —  Chateau  and  Temple  bays  — 
Places  of  interest  —  Mines  and  minerals  —  Aurora  and  phospho- 
rescence —  Icebergs  —  Fox  harbor  —  Battle  island  —  Indians 
and  Esquimaux  —  Indian  vocabulary  —  Square  island  —  Dead 
island  —  A  water  garden  —  Triangle  harbor  —  Homeward 
bound  —  Notes  on  Dutch  and  Esquimaux  settlements.         -  280-295 


'^*'   OP  THR         -^ 

'university; 


INTRODUCTION. 


LABRADOR  :    ITS  DISCOVERY  AND  ITS   LOCATION. 


The  coast  of  Labrador  is  well  known  to  you  all,  as  it  figures  on 
your  maps  and  on  your  charts.  There  are  probably  very  few  who 
do  not  recollect  this  little  oblong  plateau  as  it  appears  thus  jutting 
eastward  into  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle  from  an  almost  desolate,  and 
on  your  maps  plainly  colored,  portion  of  inhabitable  northern  North 
America.  If  there  should  be  those  to  whom  this  location  is  as 
yet  unfamihar,  let  them  refer  to  their  geography,  and  then,  follow- 
ing the  river  St.  Lawrence  as  it  flows  to  the  Gulf,  and  the  Gulf  as 
it  flows  through  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  they  will  readily  find,  just 
before  entering  the  narrowest  part  of  the  Straits,  the  coast  of  New- 
foundland on  the  right  and  that  of  Labrador  on  the  left  of  this  por- 
tion of  the  Gulf. 

A  section,  and  that  the  most  easterly,  of  the  Canadian  Province 
of  Quebec,  is  usuafly  included  with  Labrador  proper  in  the  term, 
generally  apphed,  of  "  Labrador."  As  a  part  of  this  Province  it  has 
its  mails,  though  irregular  at  best ;  while  its  seat  of  government  is 
in  Quebec. 

Of  Labrador  a  certain  writer  has  said,  perhaps  as  truly  as  the 
times  (by  which  I  mean  the  explorations  of  science  and  survey) 
will  pemiit,  that  "it  is  an  immense  peninsula  extending  over  an 
area  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  superficial  miles,  and 
bounded  by  the  Atlantic,  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  Hudson's 
Bay." 

Of  this  part  of  the  coast  there  is  a  considerable  division  of 
opinion,  as  in  fact  of  other  neighboring  parts,  as  to  the  people  who 
first  discovered  it,  as  well  as  of  the  origin  of  the  name. 

1  (1) 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  is  not  the  place  here  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  this  ques- 
tion nor  yet  to  call  up  all  the  points  in  the  arguments  in  favor  of 
or  against  any  particular  hypothesis.  The  fact  that  as  yet  we  know 
little  enough  of  these  interesting  points  of  inquiry,  which,  while  they 
answer  for  individual  effort  and  research,  will  hardly  be  necessary 
in  such  a  place  as  this,  will  therefore  limit  us  to  what  we  do  know. 

We  do  know  of  the  contention  among  both  French  and  English 
as  to  the  discovery  of  Labrador  by  Sebastian  Cabot  in  1496,  and 
its  exploration  soon  after  by  the  Portuguese  Corterell,  who  is  said 
to  have  named  it.  We  do  know  that  Mr.  Samuel  Robertson,  who 
has  given  this  matter  his  most  careful  attention  and  who  has  per- 
haps searched  more  thoroughly  than  any  other  man  in  the  country 
for  the  real  facts  bearing  upon  this  subject,  in  his  excellent  article 
read  before  the  Literary  and  Historical  Society  of  Quebec,  dated 
January  16,  1841,  gives  us  the  summing  up  of  what  are  the  results 
of  his  labors.  From  them  we  learn  that  "the  universal  tradition 
of  the  coast,"  and  which  his  inquiries  seem  to  verify  and  establish, 
is  "that  one  Labrador,  a  Basque  whaler,  from  the  kingdom  of 
Navarre  in  Spain,  did  penetrate  through  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  as 
far  as  Labrador  Bay,  sometime  about  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
century ;  and,  eventually,  the  whole  coast  took  the  name  from  that 
bay  and  harbor." 

There  is  very  little  doubt,  as  far  as  circumstantial  evidence  goes, 
that  the  coast  here,  as  in  the  neighboring  places,  was  visited  by  the 
Norsemen  in  the  tenth  century ;  but  they  left  no  signs  of  coloniza- 
tion by  which  we  can  prove  it. 

There  were  some  remains  of  buildings,  also  instruments  discov- 
ered, that  were  supposed  to  be  of  later  and  Esquimaux  origin,  but 
these,  Mr.  Robertson  thinks,  can  be  proven  of  Basque  origin.  In 
all  probability,  therefore,  Labrador  was  discovered  by  Basque  fisher- 
men and  whalers  before  the  discovery  of  Cabot,  and  before  Chris- 
topher Columbus  discovered  America.  We  know  that  the  French 
carried  on  fisheries  along  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  earlier  even 
than  the  year  1500.  In  1532  Jacques  Cartier,  with  Bretons  for 
pilots y  visited  this  coast,  and  as  early  as  1506  a  chart  of  the  Gulf 


INTRODUCTION.  "8 


had  been  published.  Besides  all  this  the  Welsh  and  Irish,  as  also 
the  Icelanders,  put  in  the  claims  of  being  early  visitors.  Thus  the 
difficulties  of  origin  increase  rather  than  diminish. 

The  first  established  colony  in  Labrador  was  at  "Brest,"  now 
Bradore.  It  was  founded  about  1508,  was  a  trading  post,  con- 
tained the  residence  of  the  Governor  and  other  officers,  and, 
it  is  said,  contained  "200  houses  and  1000  inhabitants  in  winter, 
which  latter  were  trebled  in  the  summer."  Thus  you  will  see 
that  very  early  this  was  an  important  trading  post,  though  it 
gradually  lost  its  importance,  and  soon  dwindled  to  a  few  houses 
whose  inhabitants  were  settlers,  who  took  what  they  could  find 
as  they  found  it,  and  were  without  law  and  government,  as  one 
might  truly  say. 

You  will  understand  that  this  settlement  at  Bradore  was  not  a 
permanent  one,  that  is,  dependent  upon  other  settlements  on  the 
coast ;  but  was  one,  so  to  speak,  complete  in  itself  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  on  fisheries  at  that  place,  while  the  greater  portion  of 
the  coast  had  neither  been  much  settled  nor  much  explored  ;  conse- 
quently, at  the  time  called  the  Conquest,  when  the  Esquimaux  were 
nearly  exterminated  from  these  districts,  and  when  the  owning  foreign 
monarch  began  to  cut  up  this  almost  thriving  colony  into  special 
grants  to  his  favorites,  its  prosperity  began  to  decline .  Though  at  first 
the  fish,  whale,  and  fowl  were  everywhere  abundant,  a  slow  but  per- 
ceptible decrease  of  these  productions  tended  also  to  dishearten 
the  colony ;  and  a  natural  unfavorableness  of  the  coast,  being  then, 
as  it  now  is,  a  mass  of  granite  rock,  as  also  the  severity  of  the  cli- 
mate, combined  with  a  dread  of  extennination,  to  scatter  them 
completely.  You  will  now  also  understand  why,  if  Labrador  was 
once  in  a  way  to  become  a  popular  fishing  station,  it  broke  up 
rather  than  increased  in  its  settlements  and  thus  possible  fu- 
ture growth.  Having  thus  broken  up,  you  will  see  why  it  has  re- 
mained waiting  for  the  energy  and  determination  of  Americans  to 
combine  with  the  sturdy  hold  on  of  the  English,  who  have  now 
gained  possession  of  the  coast  and  added  it  to  their  already  im- 
portant Canadian  and  Newfoundland  Colonies,  to  open  it  again  to 


INTRODUCTION. 


the  world  as  a  fishing  post,  when  centuries  shall  have  restocked 
its  waters.  » 

As  Labrador  looks  upon  the  charts,  one  would  easily  imagine 
that  it  was  a  vast  expanse  of  lowland,  and  one  almost  plain  penin- 
sula extending  into  the  sea  as  a  continuation  and  part  of  the  Brit- 
ish Provinces,  and  auxiliary,  perhaps,  to  the  territory  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company.  In  point  of  fact  this  latter  case  is  partly  true 
and  partly  false.  It  is  indeed  a  part  of  the  British  possessions,  and 
it  is  also  a  part  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  territory ;  at  least 
there  are  several  trading  posts  of  that  Company  placed  occasion- 
ally along  its  shores,  and  the  Company  own  considerable  land  lo- 
cated about  and  around  each  such  post ;  yet  it  farms  but  a  small 
part  of  that  Company's  productive  ground,  which  is  much  farther 
north,  and  extends  a  considerable  way  into  the  interior  of  the 
country,  thus  approaching  the  great  bay  which  bears  the  name  of 
that  hardy,  early  pioneer  and  explorer  who  discovered  it,  as  also 
the  river  of  that  same  name  which  here  takes  its  rise.  At  one  time 
Labrador  was  a  small  part  of  these  the  best  fur  regions  of  the 
world.  Then  many  trading  posts  were  established,  of  which  the 
most  important,  perhaps,  at  least  of  that  portion  of  the  coast  of 
which  I  shall  speak  more  at  length  presently,  was  at  St.  Augustine, 
near  the  St.  Augustine  river,  and  only  a  few  miles — so  to  speak — 
from  the  principal  settlements  in  this  section  about  Esquimaux 
river,  and  Bonne  Esperance  the  seat  of  local  government.  It  was 
only  at  a  late  day  that  this  post  was  abandoned  as  a  trading  station, 
and,  unless  recently  resupplied  it  is  no  more  a  permanent  authorized 
station  of  the  Company.  Though  the  post  here  has  been  formed  but 
a  few  years,  new  ones  are  being  so  constantly  made  —  or  rather  aban- 
doned ones  resupplied  —  and  old  ones  broken  up,  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  keep  an  exact  and  satisfactory  account  of  them  all. 

The  portions  of  Labrador  which  I  visited  are  contained  within 
the  easternmost  extremity  of  the  Province  of  Quebec,  and  the 
westernmost  part  of  Labrador  proper,  comprising  an  included 
distance  of  about  five  hundred  miles,  in  which  extent  of  coastline 
I  have  visited  nearly  every  harbor  of  importance.     In  describing 


INTRODUCTION. 


two  or  three  of  these  locations  a  sort  of  idea  may  be  obtained  of  what 
is  to  be  seen  elsewhere  along  the  coast,  as  the  simple  inhabitants 
differ  little  in  customs  and  manners. 

The  line  which  divides  these  two  portions  of  territory  is  estab- 
lished in  a  direct  northern  route  from  the  settlement  of  Blanc  Sa- 
blon,  which  is  only  about  twenty  miles  from  Bonne  Esperance,  the 
residence  of  Mr.  William  H.  Whiteley,  the  magistrate  for  this  part 
of  the  coast. 

Of  course  the  trading  post  of  St.  Augustine  was  not  the  only 
one  on  the  coast.  It  was  simply  the  only  one  which  the  peo- 
ple within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles  recognized  as  available  for  uses  of 
immediate  trade,  while  yet  a  licensed  station.  From  St.  Augustine 
almost  to  the  head  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  many  places  such 
as  Tadousac,  Port  Neuf,  Goodbout,  Seven  Islands,  and  Mingan ; 
Natashquan,  Musquarro,  Romaine,  and  perhaps  others,  were  regular 
posts  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and,  together,  formed  a  chain 
of  the  most  important  localities  along  the  coast,  all  of  which  be- 
longed to  the  Eastern  division  of  what  is  known  as  the  Montreal 
Department,  which,  with  the  Northern,  the  Southern,  and  the  Col- 
umbian Departments,  form  the  four  portions  into  which  that  great 
Company  is  divided.  As  the  southwesternmost  of  these  posts  is 
not  far  from  Quebec,  a  sort  of  central  station  for  most  of  the  trad- 
ing of  this  region,  one  can  see  quite  easily  that  the  settlers  along  the 
coast  are  not  so  far  from  communication  with  civilization,  especially 
in  summer,  as  one  would  at  first  imagine  ;  though  in  the  long  winter 
months  when  the  bays  and  harbors  are  frozen  over  so  that  no  ves- 
sels can  approach,  and  no  boats  can  sail  from  post  to  post,  to  the 
stranger  at  such  a  time  on  these  ice-bound  shores  the  prospect  seems 
dreary  enough.  In  the  winter,  travelling  is  mostly  on  foot,  shod 
with  the  racket  as  it  is  called,  a  sort  of  padded  or  rather  wicker 
snowpad ;  or  on  komatiks  or  sledges  drawn  by  dogs  which  can  go 
-over  the  high  hills,  lining  the  very  coast,  with  safety  and  often  with 
great  speed.  Yet  Labrador  in  as  low  a  latitude  as  it  is,  compared 
to  what  is  beyond,  and  as  near  civilization  as  it  is  compared  to  what 
is  beyond,  though  pleasant  for  a  short  time  in  summer,  is  suffi- 


INTRODUCTION. 


ciently  dreary  in  winter.  No  wonder  that  at  such  a  time  a  stranger 
feels  that  he  has  reached  the  limits  of  civilized  warmth,  so  to  speak, 
arising  from  his  own  country,  home  ;  while  he  is  surrounded  by  the 
icy  arms  of  the  far  north  stretching  continually  downwards  and  out- 
wards ! 

We  have  seen  now  that  Labrador  was  discovered — no  matter 
by  whom — at  a  time  very  nearly  contemporary  with  the  discovery 
of  Columbus,  if  we  exclude  the  probable  claims  of  the  Norse- 
men ;  that  it  was  once  an  important  fishing  station  whose  develop- 
ment was  in  every  way  hindered  rather  than  helped  ;  that  its  relation 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  trading  territory  was  a  very  near 
though  not  absolutely  necessary  one,  as  far  as  that  company  was 
concerned — since  the  agents  of  that  Company  always  ran  more  or 
less  opposition  to  the  Quebec  and  Halifax  traders ;  that  its  re- 
lation to  the  Province  of  Quebec  was  that  of  a  perfectly  natural 
northeastern  dependency  or  addition ;  and  that  Blanc  Sablon,  sit- 
uated as  it  is  at  the  entrance  of  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  was  so  evi- 
dent and  natural  a  division  between  this  and  the  Newfoundland 
dependency  of  Labrador  proper,  that  it  ought  not  to  be  difficult 
to  understand  where  the  one  ended  and  the  other  began. 

In  Anspach's  "History  of  the  Island  of  Newfoundland,"  1827, 
p.  323,  the  reason  for  annexing  Labrador  to  Newfoundland  is  given 
as  follows  : — 

"  The  coast  of  Labrador,  although  discovered  by  Cabot,  was 
very  little  known  until  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century,  when  the 
progressive  increase  of  the  Newfoundland  fisheries  induced  the 
British  Government  to  extend  them  to  this  coast,  by  annexing  it  to 
the  government  of  that  island,  in  the  year  1763.  The  native  in- 
habitants of  those  parts  were  included  in  the  regulations  which 
were,  at  the  same  time,  forwarded  to  the  Governor  of  the  colonies, 
to  prevent  the  different  tribes  of  Indians  from  being  in  anywise 
molested  or  disturbed  in  the  possession  of  such  territories  as,  not 
having  been  ceded  to  or  purchased  by  the  Crown  of  England, 
were  reserved  to  them  as  their  hunting  grounds.  All  settlements, 
formed  either  wilfully  or  inadvertently  upon  such  lands,  were  to 


INTRODUCTION. 


be  immediately  given  up ;  nor  were  any  such  lands  for  the  future 
to  be  purchased  from  the  said  Indians,  but  in  the  name  of  His 
Brittannic  Majesty,  at  some  public  meeting  or  assembly,  of  said 
Indians,  to  be  held  for  that  purpose  by  the  Governor  or  Comman- 
der-in-chief of  such  colony  within  or  near  which  they  should 
lie.  The  trade  with  the  said  Indians  was  declared  free  and  open 
to  all  British  subjects  who  should  take  out  proper  Hcenses  for 
that  purpose. 

This  union  of  the  coast  of  Labrador  with  Newfoundland,  by 
placing  the  former  under  a  jurisdiction  which  could,  from  local 
circumstances,  more  effectually  than  any  other,  provide  for  the 
maintenance  of  order  and  the  due  administration  of  justice  in  those 
parts,  tended  materially  to  increase  its  importance  as  a  fishery 
without  any  injury  to  the  fur  trade,  both  being  perfectly  compat- 
ible. When  this  arrangement  was  altered  in  1774,  and  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Governor  of  Newfoundland  was  reduced  to  its  former 
hmits,  a  superintendent  of  trade,  appointed  by  the  Governor-Gen- 
eral of  the  Four  British  Provinces,  and  responsible  to  him,  used  to 
reside  at  Labrador.  This  measure,  which  appeared  to  have  had 
for  its  principal  object  to  encourage  the  fur  trade,  must  have  proved 
very  prejudicial  to  the  fishery,  and  the  source  of  much  disorder 
and  irregularity.  The  re- annexation  of  the  coast  of  Labrador 
and  adjacent  islands  to  the  government  of  Newfoundland,  in  the 
year  1809,  was  consequently  a  measure  extremely  favorable  to  the 
interests  of  the  trade  and  fisheries." 

With  a  proper  understanding,  then,  of  the  region  visited,  I  will 
proceed  with  the  narrative  of  the  expedition,  trusting  that  a  greater 
part  of  it  may  be  of  general  interest  to  the  reader. 


SURVEY  OF  LABRADOR. 


UN 


•) 


CHAPTER  I. 


Survey  of  Labrador  —  Elementary  Physics  —  Physical  Geography. 


The  most  complete,  in  fact  the  only  real,  survey  of  Labrador  ever 
made,  was  in  1832  and  1834,  by  Capt.  H.  W.  Bayfield,  R.  N.,  F, 
A.  S.  He  was  assisted  by  other  parties,  though  perhaps  none  of 
them  were  so  thorough  as  was  that  of  Capt.  Bayfield  —  at  least  he 
is  quoted  as  authority  to  this  day —  and  I  found  that  our  vessel,  by 
following  the  directions  of  his  admirable  chart,  entered  and  left 
many  an  opening  of  but  sufficient  size  to  admit  the  passage  of  our 
vessel,  with  perfect  safety ;  showing  that  the  soundings  were  for  the 
most  part  taken  correctly,  and  that  comparative  quiet  had  remained 
in  regard  to  subsidence  of  waters  or  elevation  of  land  during  the  lapse 
of  a  period  of  nearly  forty  years.  Though  the  change  of  level  of  the 
water  itself,  or  the  variation  in  depth,  would  have  been  but  slight  in 
so  short  a  time,  yet  the  fact  that  so  many  of  the  soundings  remained 
unchanged  gave  us  additional  proof  against  the  rising  or  sinking  of 
the  land  at  that  place.  Comparing  Capt.  Bayfield's  chart,  therefore, 
with  our  OAvn  soundings,  we  obtained  very  favorable  and  often  im- 
portant results.  Previous  to  a  short  account  of  some  of  the 
physical  phenomena  of  this  region,  let  us  rehearse  a  few  of  the 
elementary  principles  of  physical  geography  necessary  for  their 
clear  understanding. 

For  the  purposes  of  science  and  convenience,  the  earth  is  trav- 
ersed by  imaginary  lines  running  in  all  directions  about  and  around 
it.     The  equator  is  a  great  circle  passing  around  the  earth  from 


10  ELEMENTARY  PHYSICS. 

east  to  west  and  is  equidistant  from  each  of  the  poles.  The  merid- 
ians are  great  circles  passing  around  the  globe  from  north  to  south, 
crossing  the  equator  at  right  angles  and  meeting  at  the  poles. 
The  parallels  (of  latitude)  are  smaller  circles  parallel  to  the 
equator.  The  tropics,  marking  the  highest  latitude  receiving 
the  vertical  rays  of  the  sun,  are  situated  twenty-three  and  one-half 
degrees  both  north  and  south  of  the  equator.  The  polar  circles 
are  situated  (to  correspond  with  the  tropics)  twenty-three  and 
one-half  degrees,  the  one  north  of  the  south  pole,  and  the  other  south 
of  the  north  pole,  and  are  the  limits  of  hght  when  the  sun  is  verti- 
cal at  the  tropics.  The  ecHptic  marks  the  apparent  path  of  the 
sun  from  tropic  to  tropic,  and  as  it  continues  around  the  earth  re- 
quiring three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  for  the  sun  to  pass  to  its 
end  it  divides  the  seasons  and  days,  hence  the  weeks  and  months 
of  the  year.  Latitude  is  the  distance  from  the  equator  to  the  pole, 
measured  in  either  direction  :  thus  there  are  ninety  degrees  of  north 
latitude  and  a  corresponding  number  of  degrees  of  south  latitude  ; 
the  length  of  a  degree  of  latitude  is  sixty-nine  and  one-half  miles. 
Longitude  is  the  distance  east  or  west  from  any  given  meridian 
measured  on  the  equator ;  the  length  of  a  degree  of  longitude  is 
also  sixty-nine  and  one-half  miles.  The  relative  difference  in  lon- 
gitude between  two  places  marks,  also,  the  difference  in  time 
between  those  places ;  for  since  there  are  360°  degrees  around 
the  earth  traversed  in  twenty-four  hours,  one  hour  of  time  must 
correspond  to  fifteen  degrees,  or  four  minutes  to  one  degree. 
When,  therefore,  a  place  is  so  many  degrees  from  any  given  locaHty, 
it  is  easy  to  see  what  will  be  the  difference  in  time  between  these 
places  ;  if  east  the  time  is  slower,  if  west  faster  than  the  given  time 
at  the  given  place. 

Applying  other  simple  laws  we  find  that  the  nautical  mile  is  equal 
to  one  and  one-sixth  English  miles  :  or  there  are  sixty  of  them  to 
a  degree  of  latitude ;  it  is  therefore  natural  to  compute  distances 
in  nautical  miles  by  applying  the  latitude  as  a  measure  of  distance. 

Though  these  remarks  may  not  now  seem  in  place,  their  sugges- 
tion will  become  evident  at  once  in  measuring  distances  without  the 


WAVES.  11 


use  of  a  regular  scale  of  miles,  the  degrees  and  minutes  of  latitude 
answering  every  purpose. 

Waves  have  been  defined  as  the  "  alternate  rise  and  fall  of  suc- 
cessive ridges  of  water."  They  are  formed  by  the  action  of  the 
wind,  or  the  disturbance  of  the  balance  of  equilibrium  in  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  itself.  Waves  vary  in  their  rapidity  of  progress,  their 
extent,  and  their  height  and  breadth,  according  to  the  area  of  water 
in  which  they  occur,  its  depth,  and  the  force  and  direction  of  the 
wind ;  being  smallest  in  small  bodies  and  largest  in  large  bodies  of 
water.  The  wave  movement  primarily  is  that  of  simple  oscillation, 
or  of  repeated  risings  and  fallings  without  apparent  forward  or 
backward  motion  of  any  kind ;  thus  a  chip  thrown  upon  a  surface 
of  water  affected  by  such  motion  retains  its  position  while  rising 
and  falling  as  the  water  of  that  area  rises  and  falls.  Such  is  the 
case  if  the  surface  of  the  water  is  at  apparent  rest  and  there  be  no 
wind.  Let  the  wind  arise,  or  the  sea  be  affected  by  currents,  or 
both,  and  there  arises  a  complexity  of  wave  phenomena  at  once 
interesting  as  it  is  difficult  to  study  with  any  degree  of  satisfaction. 
The  other  kind  of  wave  motion  is  called  the  wave  of  translation. 
It  is  a  long,  solitary  line  of  crests,  such  as  would  be  formed  by  the 
pushing  forward  of  a  mass  of  water  over  and  above  the  level  of  the 
surrounding  water ;  it  progresses  slow  or  fast  according  as  the  depth 
about  is  great  or  small.  The  typical  wave  of  translation  is  the  tide 
wave.  The  phenomena  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  are  too  well 
known  to  have  escaped  the  attention  of  the  ordinary  individual. 
They  are  produced  by  the  action  of  the  sun  and  moon,  primarily 
of  the  moon  alone,  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth.  They  occur 
with  regularity  in  all  gi"eat  bodies  of  water,  and  consist  of  the  rising 
and  falhng  of  that  body  of  water  effected  as  a  whole,  at  periods  of 
nearly  six  hours  apart,  with  a  few  moments  of  calm  at  the  end  of 
each  period.  The  period  of  rising  water  is  called  flood  tide,  and 
the  highest  elevation  of  flood  tide  high  water ;  while  the  period  of 
falling  water  is  called  ebb  tide,  and  the  lowest  ebb  tide  low  water. 
The  period  of  time  between  the  highest  or  lowest  tide  to  the  next 
tide  of  the  same  kind,  or  between  one  high  tide  and  the  next  high, 


12  TIDES. 

or  one  low  and  the  next  low  tide  is  twelve  hours  and  twenty-six 
minutes.  Hence,  as  there  are  two  such  periods  in  a  day,  and  only 
twenty-four  hours  in  that  period,  high  tide  occurs  fifty-two  minutes 
later  each  successive  day.  In  a  month's  time  this  very  nearly  co- 
incides with  the  period  of  a  lunar  month,  and  in  fact  we  find  that 
the  highest  tides  occur  at  such  a  time  as  answers  to  the  new  and 
full  moon,  and  the  lowest  at  the  change  of  first  and  third  quarter. 
In  a  table  of  tides,  therefore,  the  tide,  if  marked  for  new  moon  at 
a  certain  place,  will  answer  for  every  new  moon  at  that  place  through- 
out the  year  and  following  seasons.  Thus  in  a  book  of  sailing  di- 
rections, a  table  of  high  and  low  water,  or  rather  of  spring  and  neap 
tides,  gives  the  height  of  water  or  time  of  occurrence  of  the  high- 
est spring  tide  (when  the  moon  is  exactly  at  new  and  full)  at  any 
time  of  any  year ;  and  also  the  height  of  water  and  occurrence  of 
any  neap  tide  (when  the  moon  is  at  exact  first  or  third  quarter)  at 
any  time  of  any  year. 

The  interval  between  is  easily  determined  by  taking  the  time  of 
highest  or  lowest  water,  and  for  each  day  subtracting  fifty-two  min- 
utes from  said  time.  Thus  by  means  of  these  tables  navigators  can 
always  tell  high  or  low  water  at  any  day  or  any  time  of  the  day  for 
any  year,  at  any  place  mentioned  in  these  tables  ;  or  they  can  by 
marking  the  spring  and  neap  tides  make  a  table  of  their  own,  that, 
if  their  reckoning  is  correct,  will  answer  equally  well  for  other  par- 
ties as  for  themselves.  But  a  few  words  of  explanation  as  to  the  reason 
of  high  and  low  water.  I  have  said  that  both  sun  and  moon  have 
their  influence  in  the  tide  of  our  larger  bodies  of  water  throughout 
the  globe.  The  influence  of  the  moon  is  about  three  times  that  of 
the  sun.  The  moon  attracts  both  land  and  water ;  one  can  easily  see 
that  the  movable  particles  of  the  latter  will  respond  to  this  mag- 
netic force  much  more  noticeably  than  the  almost  immovable 
particles  of  the  former.  The  rising  of  the  crest  of  water,  directly 
under  the  centre  of  influence  of  the  moon  at  fufl  or  new,  causes 
of  course  a  depression  at  the  sides,  being  greatest  at  the  centre  of 
this  non-magnetic  attraction ;  thus  the  centre  of  attraction  will  be 
distant  from  the  centre  of  depression  by  90°.    To  restore  the  equilib- 


CURRENTS.  13 


rium  the  water  must  fall  to  a  crest  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  earth 
equal  to  that  of  attraction  beneath  the  moon. 

The  same  law  will  hold  good  with  regard  to  the  sun.  Therefore 
when  the  moon  and  sun  are  in  a  line  with  the  earth  and  each  other, 
the  greatest  elevation  will  occur,  as  it  does  at  new  and  full  moon ; 
and  when  the  moon  is  farthest  from  the  sun,  the  attraction  of  the 
sun  will  be  exerted  on  the  line  of  depression  90°  from  the  line  of 
greatest  elevation,  which  is  always  beneath  the  moon,  and  attract 
that  portion  to  the  corresponding  depression  of  the  other  portion, 
so  that  the  moon  exerts  its  least  influence  upon  the  water  beneath 
it  and  the  tides  are  the  lowest ;  these  occur  at  the  ist  and  3rd  quar- 
ter. The  action  of  tides  may  be  thus  briefly  described ;  we  then 
come  to  local  variations  in  height  of  tide.  Thus  if  the  sea  beach 
of  any  given  surrounding  is  low,  and  the  tide  has  free  access  to  all 
parts  at  once,  one  can  easily  see  that  the  tides  of  that  place  will  be 
moderate  in  height  and  depth  and  least  liable  to  change,  while  if 
the  surroundings  are  narrow  and  confined  and  the  sea  is  obliged  to 
force  itself  against  high  cliffs  and  into  narrow  passages  the  accu- 
mulated waters  must  form  an  abiding  place  by  raising  the  level  of  the 
water  to  that  of  the  nearest  open  basin,  which  often  causes  the 
tides  to  rise  to  the  extraordinary  height  of  forty,  fifty,  and  even 
sixty  feet  above  ordinary  level.  In  that  narrow  arm  and  clifted 
channel  of  the  sea,  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  this  remarkable  phenomenon 
actually  occurs.  At  the  head  of  the  bay  the  tides  are  eighteen  to 
twenty  feet  high ;  here  the  highest  springtides  occasionally  reach 
seventy  feet.  Marine  currents  are  so  influenced  by  local  irritation 
that  it  would  be  difficult  to  describe  them,  but  let  us  notice  a  few 
of  the  most  important  ones  : — 

It  is  pretty  generally  conceded  that  a  constant  current  sets  out  of 
the  Gulf  between  Newfoundland  and  Cape  Breton,  in  a  southeasterly 
direction.  This  is  changed  more  to  the  southward  by  a  current  en- 
tering the  Gulf  from  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle.  There  are  other  minor 
currents  due  to  prevailing  winds  at  the  time  that  affect  the  waters, 
but,  unfortunately,  they  have  not  been  studied  with  sufficient  care 
to  define  them.     There  is,  however,  no  doubt  about  the  northern 


14  CURRENTS. 


current,  and  the  huge  masses  of  ice  often  transported  through  the 
Straits  would  alone  prove  its  existence,  coming  as  they  do  with 
their  large  area  of  surface  directed  against  a  strong  opposing  south- 
west wind  and  even  thus  reaching  the  eastern  point  of  Anticosti 
before  finally  disappearing.  The  current  bearing  these  masses  is, 
however,  very  irregular,  being  weak  at  times  and  very  swift  at  others. 
In  following  this  most  important  current  I  must  give  the  words  of 
the  original  sun^ey,  as  simpler  than  any  I  can  invent,  and  more 
truthful  than  any  non-discoverer  can  give.  "  After  entering  the 
Gulf  the  current  runs  along  the  north  or  Labrador  coast  at  the  dis- 
tance of  two  or  three  miles  from  the  outer  islands,  leaving  a  narrow 
space  in-shore  in  which  the  streams  of  the  tide,  when  uninfluenced 
by  winds,  are  tolerably  regular.  Passing  outside  of  Mistanoque,  the 
islands  of  Great  Meccatina  and  Southmaker's  Ledge,  it  pursues  a 
direction  given  to  it  by  the  trending  of  the  coast  till  it  is  turned 
gradually  to  the  southward  by  the  weak  current  which  is  often 
found  coming  from  the  westward  between  Anticosti  and  the  north 
coast,  during  westerly  winds,  and  which  is  set  off  to  the  southward 
from  Natashquan  point.  The  united  streams  continue  their  south- 
em  course  at  a  rate  diminishing  as  they  become  more  widely  spread, 
and  which  seldom  exceeds  half  a  knot,  and,  finally,  joining  the  main 
downward  current  out  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  of  which  an  account 
will  be  given  immediately,  they  all  pursue  a  southeast  direction  to- 
wards the  main  entrance  of  the  Gulf,  between  Cape  Ray  and  the 
island  of  St.  Paul.  It  is  this  current  from  the  northward  which  is 
felt  by  vessels  crossing  from  off  the  Bird  rocks  towards  Anticosti : 
and  which,  together  with  neglecting  to  allow  for  the  local  attractions 
of  the  compass,  has  been  the  principal  cause  of  masters  of  ves- 
sels so  often  finding  themselves,  unexpectedly,  on  the  south 
coast.  Many  shipwrecks  have  arisen  from  this  cause  near  Cape 
Rosier,  Gaspe,  Mai  bay,  etc."  The  same  authority  adds,  further 
on,  as  an  explanation  of  the  irregularities  of  current  near  the  north 
coast  of  the  Gulf,  that  "  both  these  currents,  viz.,  that  from  the 
northward,  and  the  main  downward  current  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
are  modified  by  the  tides,  but  in  a  way  directly  contrary ;  for  the 


NAVIGATION  IN  THE  ST.  LAWRENCE.  16 

northern  current,  in  through  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle,  is  accelerated 
by  the  flood  and  checked  by  the  ebb,  while  the  other  is  accelera- 
ted by  the  ebb,  and  checked  by  the  flood  tide.  These  modifying 
causes,  viz.,  the  tides  and  winds,  give  rise  to  various  combinations 
and  consequent  irregularities,  in  the  direction  and  strength  of  these 
streams  which  it  is  extremely  difficult  at  all  times  to  estimate." 
The  idea,  then,  that  in  so  narrow  an  area  as  that  occupied  by  the 
Straits,  and  the  Gulf  and  River  St.  Lawrence,  the  main  currents 
are  constantly  diverted  by  counter  currents  and  inconstantly  influ- 
enced by  wind  and  tide,  shows  the  truth  of  my  words  when  I  say 
that  navigation  in  these  waters,  especially  when  impeded  by 
adverse  winds  and  weather,  and  enveloped  in  the  thick  fog  so  char- 
acteristic of  these  regions,  is  anything  but  easy,  even  to  the  experi- 
rienced  seaman ;  many  are  the  tales  of  horror,  at  which  the  heart 
sickens,  known  only  too  well  to  be  true,  that  might  be  told  of  An- 
ticosti,  as  well  as  other  prominent  places  along  the  south  shore  es- 
pecially of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Among  the  causes  influencing  the 
current,  especially  in  the  river  are  the  spring  freshets,  annually 
descending  the  small  streams,  and  pouring  their  bodies  of  water 
into  the  St.  Lawrence.  Here,  of  course,  the  accumulation  of  win- 
ter's snow  and  ice,  thawing,  descends  in  the  shape  of  an  accumula- 
ted mass  of  fresh  water  and  makes  its  influence  felt  far  into  the 
river.  Then,  too,  the  tide  of  the  sea  reaches  far  up  the  river  and  is 
also  often  mistaken  for  a  current  in  the  river  itself.  All  these  agents, 
acting  in  more  or  less  harmony,  often  produce  a  current  of  three  and 
even  four  knots  an  hour,  decreasing  in  velocity  as  it  approaches  the 
Gulf.  There  are  also  great  differences  in  strength  and  direction  of 
flood  and  ebb  tides,  that  frequently  produce  strong  ripples  on  Various 
parts  of  the  coast,  and  differing  according  to  locality,  so  that  unless 
a  seaman  has  studied  local  phenomena  carefully,  he  will  be  entirely 
deceived  as  to  the  proper  course  to  pursue  to  keep  his  vessel  from 
running  aground  upon  the  numerous  sandbars  here  present.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  from  Quebec  to  the  Gulf, 
is  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  our  large  American  rivers  to  navigate 
^n  all  seasons,  with  continually  varying  wind  and  weather.     The 


16  WINDS. 


Gulf  is  sufficiently  difficult  for  large  vessels,  while  the  river  is  per- 
haps still  more  so  for  medium  sized  crafts. 

Next  to  the  currents  the  winds  are  perhaps  the  most  varying  cause 
of  assistance  or  hindrance  to  the  navigator  in  these  same  portions 
of  the  water.  During  the  greater  part  of  the  season  "  the  pre- 
vailing winds,"  says  our  best  authority  upon  this  subject,  "  are  either 
directly  up  or  directly  down  the  estuary,  following  the  course  of 
the  chains  of  high  lands  on  either  side  of  the  great  valley  of  the  St. 
LawTence."  This  appears  to  be  in  the  main  true,  though  the  same 
author  tells  us  that  "  westerly  winds  do  not  appear  to  be  so  much 
guided  in  direction  by  the  high  lands,  excepting  along  the  south 
coast."  Winds  varying  from  west-northwest  to  north-northwest 
frequently  blow  for  days  in  succession,  accompanied  by  weather  in 
every  way  fine  and  beautiful ;  then  the  wind  will  often  turn  and 
blow  from  corresponding  easterly  points  as  long  again,  bringing  cold, 
wet,  foggy  weather,  and  more  or  less  rain.  The  easterly  winds 
prevail  in  spring ;  the  southwest  —  especially  in  the  Gulf  and  at  the 
opening  of  the  Straits  —  in  the  summer,  and  the  westerly  in  the 
autumn.  The  north  and  south  winds  occur  only  occasionally,  in 
the  winter  months  the  northwest  and  northerly  winds  prevailing. 
Strong  gales  of  wind  are  of  frequent  occurrence  especially  in  the 
Gulf,  in  autumn ;  generally  speaking,  however,  all  winds  subside 
more  or  less  at  dusk,  to  be  followed  by  light  off-shore  breezes  dur- 
ing the  night.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  winds  are  perhaps 
more  regular  than  might  be  expected  from  the  nature  of  the  local- 
ity ;  a  good  navigator  will  soon  learn  to  depend  upon  the  weather, 
and  even  in  a  measure  foretell  it  with  accuracy.  Let  him  be  in 
whatever  part  he  may  of  the  gulf  and  river  St.  Lawrence,  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  sailing  directions  will  lead  him,  except  in  unusual 
weather,  to  pretty  safe  and  sure  conclusions  as  to  what  the  morrow 
will  be,  and  plans  laid  upon  these  conclusions  seldom  fail  of  real- 
ization. 

Besides  and  next  in  importance  to  the  currents,  and  the  winds, 
the  marine  barometer  is  indispensable  in  determining  the  weather, 
and  guiding  one's  course  both  by  day  and  night,  here  as  in  other 


THE  BAROMETER.  17 


great  bodies  of  water.     A  few  moments  only  will  serve  to  give  a 
proper  idea  of  this  most  important  instrument. 

A  barometer  is  an  instrument  used  for  ascertaining  and  measur- 
ing the  weight  of  the  air  or  more  strictly  speaking  of  our  atmos- 
phere. It  was  invented  in  1643,  when  Torricelli  was  making  his 
examinations  as  to  the  reason  why  water  ascended  in  pumps  to  the 
height  of  thirty-two  feet,  and  there  remained.  Taking  a  glass  tube 
some  four  feet  in  length  and  closed  above,  he  filled  it  with  mercury 
and  reversed  the  open  end  in  a  basin  of  that  same  substance.  The 
column  sank  to  a  level  of  27.5  inches  and  there  remained.  Com- 
paring the  column  of  water  with  that  of  mercury  he  found  them  to 
be  to  each  other  in  height  in  an  inverse  ratio  of  the  specific  gravi- 
ties of  these  two  substances;  that  is,  a  column  of  mercury  27.5 
inches  high  would  balance  a  column  of  water  32  feet;  and  both 
would  remain  the  same,  while  the  pressure  of  atmosphere  from  outside 
upon  the  open  basins  of  mercury  and  water  in  which  the  columns 
were  inverted  remained  the  same.  In  1646,  at  Rouen,  one  Pascal 
repeated  this  experiment,  and  further  proved  that  while  one  column 
of  mercury  remaining  at  the  bottom  of  a  mountain  underwent  no 
change,  a  similar  column  taken  to  the  top  of  the  same  mountain 
was  reduced  in  height  by  several  inches  by  the  diminution  of  pres- 
sure, while  it  regained  that  same  height,  and  corresponded  with 
the  one  left  at  the  bottom  of  the  mountain  when  brought  down. 
By  this  means  he  proved  the  possibility  of  measuring  heights  by 
the  variations  of  the  barometer,  for  thus  the  tube  of  mercury  was 
named.  Boyle,  in  1666,  discovered  that  the  atmosphere  was  elas- 
tic and  compressible,  and  Mariotte  that  the  density  of  the  atmos- 
phere was  in  proportion  to  the  weight  with  which  it  was  com- 
pressed. The  layer  of  air  nearest  the  earth  was  heaviest  and 
sustained  the  weight  of  all  the  rest  of  the  atmosphere  above  it  and 
each  succeeding  stratum  was  lighter  and  lighter.  Aqueous  vapor  is 
the  amount  of  water  evaporated  and  held  in  suspension  in  the  at- 
mosphere. As  evaporation  is  promoted  by  dry  air,  wind,  a  diminu- 
tion of  pressure,  and  heat,  the  quantity  thus  held  in  suspension 
depends  upon  the  temperature.  Since  "  heat  expands  the  gaseous 
2 


18  CHANGES  OF  TEMPERATURE. 

portion  of  the  atmosphere,  the  spaces  between  its  particles  are  en- 
larged and  their  capacities  for  containing  moisture  augmented. 
Still  further  we  know  that  "aqueous  vapor  is  highly  elastic ;  its 
elasticity,  which  increases  with  an  increase  of  temperature,  has 
been  determined  by  Dalton,  and  its  force  measured  by  the  height 
of  the  mercurial  column  it  is  capable  of  supporting.  Aqueous  va- 
por, raised  to  32°  Fahrenheit,  exerts  a  pressure  on  the  mercury  equal 
to  0.2  of  an  inch,  at  80°  to  1.03  of  an  inch,  at  180°  to  15.0  inches, 
and  at  212°  to  30.0  inches,  — a  pressure  equal  to  the  pressure  of  the 
whole  atmosphere  at  the  level  of  the  sea."  The  amount  of  vapor 
existing  at  any  time  in  the  air  is  determined  by  an  instrument  called 
the  hygrometer.  By  means  of  this  instrument  we  obtain  the  dew- 
point.  When  the  readings  of  both  thermometer  and  the  hygrometer 
are  alike,  the  temperature  of  the  dew-point  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
air ;  the  air  is  then  saturated  or  full  of  moisture.  Quoting  further 
from  our  generally  accepted  theory,  we  say  that  "  it  is  chiefly  in 
the  nights  and  early  mornings  of  the  winter  months,  that  the  atmos- 
phere is  saturated  with  vapor,  or  that  vapor  is  at  its  maximum  of 
elasticity  for  the  temperature.  In  our  climate,  vapor  never  attains 
its  greatest  elasticity  at  a  high  temperature  j  for  if  in  the  summer 
months  the  atmosphere  becomes  saturated  it  is  caused  by  a  decli- 
nation of  the  heat,  which,  contracting  the  spaces  between  the  par- 
ticles of  the  air,  squeezes  the  vapor  contained  in  them  closer,  and 
thus  brings  its  elasticity  to  a  maximum  for  the  temperature  to  which 
the  air  has  fallen.  It  was  upon  the  changes  of  temperature  in  the  at- 
mosphere that  Dr.  James  Hutton  founded  his  theory  of  rain.  He 
considered  rain  to  be  formed  by  the  mixture  of  two  strata  of  the  at- 
mosphere of  different  temperatures,  and  each  stratum  saturated  with 
moisture.  The  mean  quantity  of  the  vapor  contained  by  the  two 
strata  before  the  mixture  being  more  than  the  mean  heat  of  the  two 
(after  the  combination),  the  excess  is  precipitated."  The  princi- 
pal causes  of  variance  in  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere  are  moisture 
and  heat ;  the  variation  is  greater  in  polar  than  in  tropical  countries, 
and  in  mountainous  than  in  more  level  regions.  We  can  now  un- 
derstand the  importance  of  the  use  of  the  barometer  in  determin- 


BAROMETRICAL  RULES.  19 

ing  the  weather,  especially  in  such  a  country  as  is  found  along  the 
coast  of  Labrador.  Barometers  are  of  two  varieties  :  the  common 
mercurial,  where  the  air  acts  directly  upon  a  basin  of  mercury  in 
which  the  inverted  column  of  that  same  substance  is  placed ;  and 
the  aneroid,  where  the  atmosphere  acts  upon  a  metallic  box,  from 
which  the  air  has  been  exhausted,  and  by  its  pressure  communicated 
by  a  system  of  levers  acts  upon  the  needle  to  register  the  amount 
of  variance ;  this  is  possible,  since  the  column  of  mercury  is 
counterbalanced  by  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere.  For  a  barom- 
eter to  be  of  the  greatest  use  it  must  be  read  in  connection  with 
the  direction  of  the  wind,  and  the  temperature  of  the  air,  as  shown 
by  the  thermometer.  The  hours  in  the  day  when  it  stands  highest 
are  at  9  a.  m.,  and  9  p.  m.  ;  and  it  is  usually  lowest  at  3  a.  m.,  and 
3  p.  M.  These  hours,  therefore,  are  the  best  for  making  observa- 
tions and  are  generally  used  by  scientific  men  generally  the  world 
over. 

The  following  table  of  rules  will  be  found  to  apply  in  nine  chances 
out  of  ten,  for  the  correct  use  or  reading  of  the  barometric  needle. 

Rising  barometer  with  south  wind, —  fine  weather. 

Sudden  rise,  wind  N.  or  N.  N.   W.,  in  broken  cold  weather, 
—  rain  or  snow  and  sometimes  nightly  thaws. 

Rapid  rise  after  S.  W.    gale  and  rain,  —  clear  sky  and  sharp 
white  frost. 

Steady  high  pressure,  wind  strong  W., —  high  temperature  and 
very  little  rain. 

Steady  high  pressure,  wind  strong  E., —  lower  temperature  and 
sharp  frost. 

FalHng   barometer,  with    N.  wind, —  cold  rain  and   storms  in 
summer,  deep  snow  and  severe  frost  in  winter. 

Falling  barometer,  wind  S.,  —  more  or  less  rain. 

Falling  barometer,  wind  N.  W., —  cold  rain  in  summer,  severe 
frost  in  winter. 

Falling  barometer,  high  S.  W.  wind,  —  increasing  storm. 

Steady  and  large  fall,  wind  E.,  —  wind  S.  or  heavy  snow  or  rain. 

Sudden  and  large  fall,  wind  W., — violent  storm  N.  W.,  or  N. 


20  BAROMETRICAL  RULES. 

Great  fall  during  frosty  weather,  —  thaw  continued  with  S.  or 
S.  E.  wind,  and  returning  frost  if  S.  W.  wind. 

Lowest  depressions,  wind  S.  or  S.  E.,  —  much  rain  and  severe 
gale. 

In  general :  a  rapid  rise  gives  a  violent  wind ;  continued  fall, 
continued  wind. 

Great  depression  in  summer, —  storms,  wind  and  rain,  thunder 
and  hail. 

Rise  with  S.  wind,  —  high  temperatures. 

Mercury  unsteady,  —  air  in  electrical  state. 

No  great  storm  sets  in  with  a  steady  rise. 

N.  and  S.  winds  are  the  origin  of  our  greatest  storms. 

W.  winds  blow  mostly  at  night. 

E.  winds  calm  at  night,  blow  by  day. 

There  is  least  wind  at  sunrise  and  sunset,  and  most  wind  at  i  or  2 
p.  M. ;  wind  with  the  sun  fine  ;  wind  against  sun  mercury  falls,  bad 
weather  generally. 

Meteors  are  not  common  during  low  temperatures  ;  the  Aurora 
borealis  has  been  seen  at  all  heights  of  the  barometer.  It  has 
been  noticed  and  recorded  that,  "  the  finest  and  most  beneficial 
state  of  the  atmosphere,  more  especially  as  regards  the  health  of 
man,  is  with  a  uniform  pressure  at  the  mean  height  of  the  climate 
varying  from  29.80  to  30.00." 

A  poetic  barometrical  rhyming  table  which  lately  came  to  my 
notice  reads  as  follows  : 

"When  rise  begins  after  low, 
Squalls  expect,  and  clear  blow; 
Long  foretold  long  last, 
Short  notice,  soon  past, 
First  rise  after  low 
Pore  tells  stronger  blow." 

Still  another  comes  to  mind  : 

"When  the  glass  falls  low, 
Prepare  for  a  blow; 
When  it  rises  high. 
Let  your  kites  fly." 


CLOUD  COMBINATIONS.  21 

A  great  many  other  foretellings  of  weather  are  known  in  one 
shape  or  another,  but  it  is  not  the  province  or  purport  of  this  work 
to  be  a  prophetic  indicator  of  the  weather,  but  simply  to  explain 
some  of  the  most  common  and  important  physical  phenomena  of 
the  region  about  Labrador  :  hence  a  few  of  the  usual  combinations 
of  thermometer  and  barometer  readings,  which  may  generally  be 
relied  upon  with  a  tolerable  degree  of  accuracy  in  guiding  the 
mariner  along  these  coasts,  where,  in  summer,  travelling  is  by  water 
and  a  fair  day  is  predicted  as  far  ahead  as  possible. 

The  combinations  of  the  clouds  are  also  great  indicators  of 
weather  and  affect  the  barometer  more  or  less  indirectly.  The 
cirrus  is  seen  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  and  at  all  heights  of  the 
barometer ;  it  has  a  slow  motion  in  fair  and  a  rapid  one  with  falling 
barometer  in  foul  or  stormy  weather.  The  cirro-stratus,  not  unlike 
the  cirrus  of  which  it  is  a  peculiar  condition,  is  the  forerunner  of  a 
falling  barometer  with  wind  or  rain.  Sometimes  it  appears  after  a 
rapid  rise  in  the  mercury ;  then  also  rain  generally  follows  soon. 
The  cirro-cuinuius  comes  with  a  rising  barometer  and  is  a  warm 
weather  cloud.  The  cumulus  is  seen  chiefly  in  spring  and  summer  ; 
it  is  seen  in  showery  weather  with  the  cirro-stratus,  and  in  hot  weather 
alone  or  with  other  clouds.  "If  during  a  fine  morning  this  cloud  sud- 
denly disappears,  and  it  be  followed  by  the  cirro-stratus  with  the 
wind  backing  to  the  south,  the  mercury  falls,  and  rain  soon  follows. 
The  cumulus  is  a  day  cloud ;  its  greatest  density  keeps  off  the  too 
scorching  rays  of  the  noonday  sun ;  it  usually  evaporates  an  hour 
or  two  before  sunset.  When  it  increases  after  sunset,  and  shines 
with  a  ruddy,  copper-colored  light,  it  denotes  a  thunder  storm." 
The  cumulus  is  seen  with  a  risnig  barometer  generally.  The  cu- 
mulo-stratus  appears  much  like  the  cumulus,  indicating  sudden 
changes  of  \vind,  thunder  squalls,  and  even  hail.  It  tends  to  raise 
the  mercury.  The  stratus,  in  the  words  of  the  same  authority 
above  quoted,  "is  formed  from  the  sudden  chill  of  certain  strata  of 
the  atmosphere,  which,  condensing  the  vapor  contained  in  them, 
renders  it  visible  in  a  misty  cloud  or  creeping  fog.  Calm  weather 
is  essential  for  the  formation  of  the  stratus ;  it  is  frequent  in   fine 


22  DEW-POINT. 


autumnal  nights  and  mornings.  It  obscures  the  sun  until  his  rays 
have  raised  the  temperature  of  the  air  sufficiently  to  evaporate  it, 
when  it  gradually  disappears  and  leaves  a  clear,  blue  sky.  The 
stratus  deposits  moisture,  is  called  the  night  cloud  and  is  most  fre- 
quent from  September  till  January.  When  the  temperature,  from  ra- 
diation or  other  causes,  sinks  below  32°,  we  find  it  fettered  with  icy 
spiculae  upon  trees  and  shrubs  and  sparkling  in  exquisite  frost  work 
upon  all  nature."  It  is  not  known  to  affect  the  barometer  much 
either  way.  The  nimbus  is  seen  during  showers  :  it  is  not  seen  with 
the  barometer  at  great  heights.  A  study  of  vapor  point  would  be  of 
great  interest  to  one  desiring  to  pursue  this  subject  further ;  and 
there  are  plenty  of  books  on  Physics  and  Physical  Geography  for 
those  who  are  thus  inclined,  not  to  waste  useless  space  and  time 
here  upon  definitions.  One  point  further,  however,  before  we 
leave  the  subject : — 

We  see,  therefore,  that  the  rising  or  falling  of  the  barometric 
needle  corresponds  with  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere.  This 
pressure  is  due  to  changes  of  temperature,  moisture  and  wind. 
To  show  that  the  barometer  is  more  of  an  instrument  than  appears 
upon  first  sight,  and  must  be  studied  in  itself  without  reference  to 
the  words  marked  upon  its  face,  a  clause  from  one  of  our 
scientific  college  text-books  of  natural  philosophy  tells  us  that  "the 
practice  formerly  prevailed  of  engraving  at  different  points  of 
the  barometric  scale  several  words  expressive  of  states  of  weather  : 
fair,  rain,  frost,  wind,  etc.,  etc.  But  such  indications  are  worthless, 
being  as  often  false  as  true  :  this  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
the  height  of  the  column  would  be  changed  from  one  kind  of 
weather  to  another  by  simply  carrying  the  instrument  to  a  higher 
or  lower  station."  The  measuring  of  heights  by  the  barometer  will 
be  spoken  of  in  another  place.  It  remains  but  to  speak  of 
the  dew-point,  and  the  resultant  forms  of  water  manifested.  The 
dew-point  is  "the  temperature  at  which  vapor,  in  a  given  case, 
is  precipitated  into  water  in  some  of  its  forms."  The  amount  of 
vapor  in  the  air  is  expressed  by  its  tension  or  elastic  power,  and  its 
humidity,  or  "  its  quantity  present,  as  compared  with  the  greatest 


USE  OF  BAROMETER.  23 

possible  amount  at  that  temperature."  When  the  air  is  colder  than 
the  temperature  of  the  dew-point,  the  surplus  amount  of  vapor  is 
condensed  by  the  amount  of  difference  of  pressure,  and  the  result 
is  dew,  frost,  fog,  etc.  The  first  deposition  is  dew ;  then,  according 
as  the  radiating  body  is  acted  upon  with  greater  or  less  amount  of 
temperature,  we  have  frost ;  then  fog,  which  becomes  clouds  of  dif- 
ferent kinds,  forms,  and  shapes ;  these  in  turn  condense  and  pre- 
cipitate rain,  which  pressure  still  forms  into  a  spray  called  mist ;  and 
this,  crystallizing,  gives  us,  first  hail,  then  sleet,  and  finally  snow  in 
all  its  perfection  of  microscopic  crystals. 

Before  closing  my  remarks  on  the  barometer  a  few  quotations 
from  the  Sailing  Directions  will  serv^e  to  give  you  a  good  idea  of 
the  use  of  this  instrument,  or  rather  of  the  use  it  may  be  if  carefully 
and  properly  studied.  "The  barometer  has  a  range  of  from  29  to 
30.5  inches  in  the  Gulf  and  River  St.  Lawrence  during  the  navigable 
season,  and  its  changes  accompany  those  of  the  winds  and  weather 
with  a  considerable  degree  of  constancy.  The  fluctuations  of  the 
barometric  column  are  much  greater  and  more  frequent  there  than 
in  lower  latitudes,  and  sudden  alterations,  which  in  other  climates 
would  be  alarming,  may  occur  there  without  being  followed  by  any 
corresponding  change  either  in  the  wind  or  in  the  weather."  The 
most  practical  part  is  still  to  follow,  and  expresses  the  pith  of  all 
that  can  be  said  thus  concisely  :  "But  the  navigator  should  not  be 
inattentive  to  these  minor  changes,  as  a  constant  attention  to  the 
instrument  can  alone  enable  him  to  appreciate  those  decisive  indi- 
cations of  the  mercury  which  seldom  or  never  prove  deceptive." 

Quoting  further  from  the  same  source,  of  the  fogs  it  says  :  "they 
may  occur  at  any  time  during  the  open  or  navigable  season,  but 
are  most  frequent  in  the  early  part  of  summer ;  they  are  rare,  and 
never  of  long  continuance  during  westerly  winds,  but  seldom  fail 
to  accompany  an  easterly  wind  of  any  strength  or  duration.  The 
above  general  observation  is  subject,  however,  to  restriction,  ac- 
cording to  locality  or  season.  Thus  winds  between  the  south  and 
west,  which  are  usually  clear  weather  winds  above  Anticosti,  are  fre- 
quently accompanied  with  fog  in  the  eastern   parts  of  the  gulf. 


24  FOGS. 

Winds  between  the  south  and  east  are  most  ahvays  accompanied 
with  rain  and  fog  in  every  part.  E.  N.  E.  winds  above  Point  de 
Monts  are  often  E.  S.  E.  or  S.  E.  winds  in  the  Gulf,  changed  in  direc- 
tion by  the  high  lands  of  the  south  coast,  and  have  therefore,  in  gen- 
eral, the  same  foggy  character.  Winds  of  considerable  strength  and 
duration  are  meant  here,  which  probably  extend  over  great  dis- 
tances. Moderate  or  partially  fine  weather  winds  may  occur  with- 
out fog  at  any  season,  and  in  any  locality.  In  the  early  part  of  the 
navigable  season,  especially  in  the  months  of  April  and  May,  clear 
weather  N.  E.  winds  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  they  also 
sometimes  occur  at  other  seasons  in  every  part  of  the  Gulf  and 
River  St.  Lawrence.  'The  fogs  sometimes  last  several  days  in 
succession  and  to  a  vessel  either  running  up  or  beating  down,  dur- 
ing their  continuance,  there  is  no  safe  guide  but  the  constant  use  of 
the  deep-sea  lead,  with  a  chart  containing  correct  soundings. 

"The  fogs  which  accompany  easterly  gales  extend  higher  up  into 
the  atmosphere,  and  cannot  be  looked  over  from  any  part  of  the 
rigging  of  a  ship.  They,  however,  are  not  so  thick  as  those  which 
occur  in  calms  after  a  strong  wind,  and  which  are  frequently  so 
dense  as  to  conceal  a  vessel  within  hail,  while  the  former  often, 
but  not  always,  admit  the  land,  or  other  objects,  to  be  distinguished 
at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  or  more  in  the  daytime. 

"The  dense  fogs  which  occur  in  calms,  or  even  in  very  light 
winds,  often  extend  only  to  small  elevations  above  the  sea ;  so  that 
it  sometimes  happens  that  when  objects  are  hidden  at  a  distance  of 
fifty  yards  from  the  deck,  they  can  be  plainly  seen  by  a  person  fifty  or 
sixty  feet  up  the  rigging.  In  the  months  of  October  and  Novem- 
ber, the  fogs  and  rain  that  accompany  easterly  gales  are  replaced 
by  thick  snow,  which  causes  equal  embarrassment  to  the  navigator." 

I  have  frequently  proven  the  truth  of  nearly  every  statement 
contained  within  the  above  quotation. 

One  other  subject  remains  to  be  spoken  of,  and  that  but  briefly : 
It  is  the  ice  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Straits  of  Belle 
Isle.  It  is  very  fortunate  for  us  that  the  admirable  work  done  by 
Bayfield  along  this  part  of  the  coast  remains  as  a  monument  to  his 


DRIFT  ICE.  25 


thoroughness  of  exploration  and  the  study  of  the  phenomena  of  this 
region.  His  well  chosen  language  often  supplies  to  us  the  lack- 
ing power  of  expression  in  descriptions  of  this  kind,  and  we  take 
his  words  in  preference  to  our  own.  On  this  subject,  also,  he  re- 
marks :  ''In  spring,  the  entrance  and  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence  are  frequently  covered  with  drift  ice,  and  vessels 
are  sometimes  beset  with  it  for  many  days."  I  have  seen  a  vessel 
in  the  spring  of  the  year  closed  in  on  all  sides  by  ice  that  formed 
during  the  night  augmented  by  drift,  and  obliged  to  stay  there  the 
remainder  of  the  week  until  the  sun  broke  the  surrounding  crust 
and  the  wind  dispersed  the  drift.  Again  he  says  :  "Being  unfitted 
for  contending  with  the  danger,  they  often  suffer  from  it  and  are 
frequently  lost ;  but  serious  accidents  from  this  cause  do  not  occur 
frequently,  because  the  ice  is  generally  in  a  melting  state  from  the 
powerful  effects  of  the  sun  in  spring.  In  the  fall  of  the  year,  acci- 
dents seldom  occur  from  ice,  except  when  the  winter  commences 
suddenly,  or  when  vessels  linger  imprudently  late  from  the  tempta- 
tion of  obtaining  high  freights."  Several  instances  have  occurred 
where  boats  and  small  vessels  have  thus  lingered  late  and  been 
overtaken  by  the  breaking  up  of  previously  formed  and  solid  ice 
by  the  sun's  rays,  on  some  warm  day,  and  thus  been  carried  off  into 
the  Gulf,  or  wrecked  on  some  of  the  islands  or  more  dangerous 
portions  of  the  surrounding  coast.  In  the  fall  when  the  ice  from 
above  breaks  up  and  is  taken  by  the  current  through  the  Straits  of 
Belle  Isle,  ships  often  run  into  large  floating  bergs  that  are  lying 
about  here  and  there  in  the  water,  and  directly  in  the  way  of  nav- 
igation, and  are  either  crushed  by  the  falling  of  the  berg  upon  them, 
if  it  be  a  tall  and  large  one  (for  it  must  be  remembered  that  from 
two-fifths  to  nine-tenths  of  an  iceberg  remains  under  the  water,  and 
that,  gradually  worn  away  by  abrasion  and  the  warmer  waters 
of  the  current,  it  has  become  so  brittle  that  a  jar  easily  displaces  it 
and  therefore  causes  the  remainder  to  assume  a  different  position 
— by  which  I  mean  that  the  whole  structure  falls  —  and  thus  doing 
damage  according  to  its  size)  ;  or,  again,  a  vessel  going  with  her 
usual  speed  may  run  into  a  solid  block  of  ice,  where  indeed  the  cur- 


26  DRIFT  ICE. 


rent  would  be  otherwise  unimpeded,  and  cause  much  damage  in 
this  way.  In  spring  the  water  is  covered  with  what,  in  Labrador,  is 
termed  sheshe  ice  ;  this  is  a  thin  mass  of  slob  (another  expression 
used  here)  that  has  formed  by  frost  or  snow,  or  a  combination  of 
both,  during  the  night,  which  in  the  morning  when  the  sun  comes  up 
breaks  up  and  goes  floating  about  in  the  water,  often  attaching 
and  carrying  away  with  it  still  other  pieces  of  stray  ice,  and 
becoming  generally  dangerous.  Small  boats,  that  are  at  this  season 
numerous,  since  the  dog  sleds  can  no  longer  be  used,  often  get 
entangled  in  these  masses,  while  a  turn  of  the  weather  brings  cold 
that  cements  them  into  the  ice  which  forms  an  impassable  barrier 
to  further  progress.  The  boat  cannot  urge  a  way  through  it,  and 
the  foot  cannot  yet  walk  on  it,  the  craft  drifts  at  the  mercy  of  the 
tide,  the  currents,  and  the  wind,  and  is  often  carried  out  into  the 
Gulf,  or  thrown  in  contact  with  the  shore,  while  woeful  tales  of 
starvation  are  known  to  be  only  too  true  from  this  as  other  like 
causes.  The  ice  causes  another  sort  of  damage  here,  which  is  a 
source  of  great  annoyance.  Large  numbers  of  pieces  of  ice  are 
found  at  the  first  breaking  up  of  the  bays  and  waters,  until  August, 
and  often  even  later.  I  have  known  a  piece  to  strand  on  some 
fishing  ground,  and  with  a  rising  tide  go  on  its  slow  but  in  a 
measure  almost  irresistible  way  directly  through  the  well  laid  nets 
of  the  fishermen,  carrying  them  off  bodily  into  the  sea.  Of  course 
this  cannot  be  helped,  yet  I  have  witnessed  this  spectacle,  with  the 
unfortunate  fellows  thus  loosing  their  net,  from  the  shore,  unable 
to  do  anything  with  them  to  recover  the  lost  property.  Naviga- 
tion in  the  Gulf  and  River  St.  Lawrence  is  usually  closed  the  first 
of  December,  and  remains  so  until  the  first  of  May ;  even  after 
that,  drift  ice  in  large  quantities  is  liable  to  occur  for  a  month  more. 


TRIP  TO  LABRADOR.  27 


CHAPTER  II. 


Trip  to  Labrador — Arrival  at  Montreal  —  Arrival  at  Quebec,  and  Description 
of  the  City. 


It  was  in  the  early  part  of  September  that  I  first  formed  the  idea 
of  a  trip  to  Labrador,  where  I  hoped  to  remain  during  the  winter 
months,  and  the  following  season.  I  had  been  working  hard 
during  the  previous  year,  and  forming  an  idea  that  a  trip  to 
Labrador  and  a  study  of  the  natural  history  of  that  region  would 
be  of  great  use  in  the  determination  of  the  variety  of  species  and 
their  geographical  distribution  in  migration  in  the  study  of  New 
England  Natural  History,  I  determined  to  profit  by  an  opportunity 
offered  and  start  for  the  coast. 

Knowing  that  the  last  vessel  left  Quebec  for  Labrador  some- 
time during  the  above  mentioned  month,  a  letter  and  a  telegram 
apprised  us  (myself  and  two  friends  who  also  wished  to  go)  that 
we  must  start  for  Quebec  at  once  if  we  wished  to  reach  this  means 
of  conveyance  before  it  was  too  late.  My  letters  reached  me  on 
Thursday  the  9th  of  the  month,  and  this  gave  but  two  days  to  pre- 
pare for  a  journey  of  over  a  thousand  miles,  and  an  absence  of  at 
least  a  year  in  the  cold  region  of  the  North,  since  I  must  leave  by 
the  late  train  on  Saturday  night  to  be  in  time  to  reach  the  vessel 
which  the  letter  said  would  probably  start  Tuesday  from  Quebec. 

The  suddenness  of  the  decision  which  I  had  thus  formed  will  be 
seen  when  I  say  that  many  of  my  friends  saw  the  news  first  in  the 
papers  before  even  my  letters  reached  them,  though  I  had  written 
as  soon  as  it  was  possible  after  deciding.     Intending  to  purchase 


28  LEAVING  HOME. 


the  greater  part  of  my  supplies  in  Quebec,  I  put  in  my  trunk  only 
such  things  as  I  needed,  adding  a  few  simple  medicines,  since  I 
was  going  to  a  place  where  there  were  no  doctors,  and,  bidding 
my  home  and  friends  the  usual  form  of  parting,  was  at  the  station 
promptly  for  the  train. 

TravelKng  by  night  is  at  no  time  pleasant  to  the  majority  of  peo- 
ple whose  occupation  takes  them  from  place  to  place,  and  it  is  often 
especially  unpleasant  where  the  nine  o'clock  evening  train  is  a  slow 
mixture  of  a  very  few  passenger  and  a  great  many  freight  cars,  whose 
fastest  gait  is  an  amble,  and  its  stops  frequent  and  of  long  duration  ; 
while  the  interior  of  the  most  inhabitable  of  the  cars  upon  the  pas- 
senger list  is  at  best  a  dim,  cloudy,  close  atmosphere  of  condensed 
and  accumulated  dirt  and  soot  and  bad  breath, — said  interior  look- 
ing as  if  it  had  seen  neither  pure  air  nor  water  since  the  day  of  its 
first  appearance  on  the  road  up  to  the  present.  Such  as  it  was  we 
were  all  soon  seated,  as  comfortably  as  possible,  having  waved  our 
hands  at  our  friends  on  the  platform,  feeling  that  the  car  was 
really  in  motion  and  we  were  being  surely  drawn  towards  the  north 
and  away  from  home.  It  was  then  that  I  had  my  first  opportunity 
for  reflecting  :  first,  that  I  was  leaving  home  for  a  new  and  compara- 
tively little-known  region,  second,  that  I  might  have  left  the  very 
things  that  I  should  most  want  and  need  and  taken  things  that  would 
be  of  comparatively  little  or  no  use  —  though  there  was  really  Httle 
to  fear  on  that  score ; —  and  third,  as  to  the  prospect  of  outliving 
the  fierce  winter  of  such  a  region  as  that  to  which  we  were  going. 

I  did  not  long  trouble  myself  with  these  reflections,  however,  as 
the  hurry,  excitement,  and  constant  bustle  of  the  past  two  days  had 
left  me  considerably  fatigued,  and  so  turning  over  an  empty  seat 
behind,  and  arranging  myself  in  the  most  comfortable  position 
possible  where  the  seats  are  hard  at  the  best,  I  composed  myself  to 
sleep.  I  say  to  sleep,  but  I  should  much  better  have  said  to  try  to 
sleep  ;  no  doubt  the  excitement  of  the  previous  days  rendered  it  a 
more  difliciilt  matter  than  it  would  have  been  had  the  journey  been 
longer  contemplated.  Thus  I  dozed  away  and  caught  an  occasional 
nap  of  short  duration  throughout  the  night,  until  we  reached  St. 


ARRIVAL  AT  MONTREAL.  29 

Albans  somewhere  in  the  small  hours  of  the  morning.  After  a  little 
refreshment,  and  a  short  stay  here,  not  long  enough,  however,  to 
enable  me  to  get  much  of  a  glimpse  of  this  queer  old  Canadian 
and  American  town,  yet  with  plenty  of  time  to  secure  the  latest 
New  York  and  Boston  newspapers,  the  train  which  was  to  take 
us  to  Montreal  arrived ;  and  soon  we  were  whirling  off  in  the  di- 
rection of  that  place,  comfortably  seated  in  a  car  whose  atmosphere 
was  a  pleasing  variation  from  that  of  the  car  we  had  so  lately 
left,  in  that  its  purity  was  its  main  attraction.  We  had  now  daylight 
before  us,  and  though  still  rather  tired  and  sleepy,  could  at  least 
vary  the  monotony  of  our  trip  with  the  natural  objects  that  pre- 
sented themselves  to  our  gaze  through  the  car  windows.  An 
officer  soon  awakened  those  disposed  to  slumber  with  the  in- 
telligence that  we  were  crossing  the  line  and  must  soon  submit 
to  having  our  baggage  inspected.  I  thought  it  very  kind  of  him  to 
give  us  notice  beforehand  of  this  most  important  event,  and  also 
most  kind  of  the  inspector  when  he  appeared,  and  most  indicative 
of  his  ability  to  judge  of  human  character  by  the  face,  that  he 
gave  us  so  little  trouble  with  our  bundles.  These  contemplations, 
however,  did  not  long  deter  me  from  another  attempt  at  a  nap,  and 
once  more  settling  myself  down  I  tried  to  sleep. 

As  our  train  went  along  slowly  it  was  sometime  before  we  reached 
Victoria  bridge  spanning  the  St.  Lawrence  below  Montreal ;  after 
a  long  rumbling  through  this  covered  bridge,  whose  little  skylights 
far  above  the  head  on  the  side  of  the  building  shed  but  a  feeble 
occasional  gleam,  we  emerged  into  the  light  again  only  to  pass  along 
through  low  flats  of  land  or  near  high  walls  of  buildings,  both  of 
which  seemed  equally  the  abodes  of  poverty  and  dirt,  and  reached 
Montreal  two  hours  late  since  we  were  due  at  8  and  it  was 
then  lo  A.  M.  Here  our  trunks  were  inspected  with  the  same 
kindness  that  our  bundles  had  been  in  the  cars  — mine  not  being 
opened  at  all —  and  we  were  soon  rumbling  over  the  stones  to  the 
hotel  where  an  abundance  of  good  warm  substantial  food  soon 
revived  us  again.  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  enter  into  a  description 
of  this   old-fashioned  place,   as   that  has   been  too   often   done 


30  EN  ROUTE  FOR  QUEBEC. 

and  to  a  much  better  advantage  than  anything  I  could  say  with 
my  present  knowledge  of  the  city,  confined  as  it  is  to  a  day  only, 
and  that  too  a  Sunday,  when  none  of  the  places  of  interest  to  the 
visitor  were  open,  and  the  long  lines  of  huge,  gloomy  stone  buildings 
frowned  upon  pavements,  and  churches,  especially  that  massive 
structure,  the  Notre-Dame  Cathedral  alone,  were  the  scene  of  flock- 
ing multitudes. 

Early  the  next  day,  at  about  seven  o'clock,  we  were  aroused 
from  our  sleep  and  told  to  get  ready  at  once  as  the  train  for  Quebec, 
and  the  one  on  which  we  intended  leaving,  started  from  the  other 
end  of  the  city  at  about  half-past  seven,  a  truly  cheering  bit  of  news. 
Hastily  dressing  and  descending  to  the  hotel  parlor  I  found  my 
friends  just  hurrying  down  from  their  room,  and  together  we  went 
to  the  clerk  to  inquire  if  breakfast  was  ready ;  to  our  surprise  it 
was  not,  but  soon  would  be.  Here  was  a  long  delay  of  five  or  ten 
minutes  before  the  door  to  the  breakfast-room  was  opened,  and  we 
were  summoned  to  table  just  as  the  coach  drove  up  to  the  door 
bringing  us  word  that  we  were  probably  already  too  late  to  catch 
the  train ;  but  breakfast  must  be  eaten,  and  some  six  minutes  were 
lost  again  which  made  the  driver  sure  we  were  too  late,  while  it 
assured  us  that  we  had  had  just  enough  hot  steak  and  coffee  to 
make  us  wish  for  more. 

Nothing  could  be  done,  however,  but  to  pay  an  exorbitant  hotel 
bill  and  urge  the  coach  off  at  its  fastest  gait  for  the  depot  at  the 
other  end  of  the  town.  We  had  six  minutes,  I  think,  in  which  to 
accomphsh  our  journey  of  about  a  mile  over  the  hardest  of  pave- 
ments, and  in  a  vehicle  that  tossed  about  from  side  to  side  threaten- 
ing every  moment  to  upset  as  we  fairly  steamed  down  the  streets, 
rattling  as  if  our  life  depended  on  the  amount  of  noise  made,  and 
bouncing  about  in  a  manner  calculated  to  digest  what  little  nourish- 
ment we  had  taken  before  our  ride  was  half  completed. 

We  reached  the  door  of  the  station  on  the  minute,  purchased 
our  tickets,  received  our  checks  from  the  driver,  who  had  left  his 
team  at  eminent  risk  of  its  running  away  to  procure  them,  and 
stepped  on  the  train  as  it  was  just  moving  from  the  depot. 


STOP  FOR  LUNCH.  31 


Travelling  by  rail  is  at  no  time  pleasant  when  the  train  is  a  slow 
one,  and  the  prospect  of  an  all  day's  trip  a  pretty  safe  one.  I  do 
not  mean  to  enter  into  the  subject  of  conveniences  or  inconve- 
niences of  such  travelling,  but  true  it  is,  that  one  can  often  make 
one's  self  comfortable  or  uncomfortable,  as  one  desires,  when  placed 
under  such  circumstances.  Desiring  the  former,  as  by  all  means 
to  be  preferred  to  the  latter,  I  took  off  my  tall  hat  and,  much  to 
the  apparent  envy  (I  flatter  myself  judging  from  their  looks)  of 
several  persons  around  me,  drew  from  my  pocket,  and  adjusted  on 
my  head,  a  soft,  brimless,  smoking  cap,  while  I  lay  back  in  the 
seat,  head  to  the  window  and  feet  on  the  extreme  end  of  the  cush- 
ion and  against  the  handle  bars,  and  read  my  book.  Oblivious  to 
all  around,  I  continued  to  peruse  the  before  mentioned  volume 
till  our  noon  stop  at  a  long-platformed,  spacious-roomed  station. 
Finding,  here,  that  it  would  be  an  hour  or  more  before  the  train 
was  made  up  that  was  to  take  us  on  to  Quebec,  or  rather  Point 
Levis,  as  we  were  on  the  Montreal  side  of  the  river  yet,  I  took  a 
hasty  lunch  in  the  refreshment  room  and  then  started  off  in  the 
direction  of  the  river  which  here  flowed  gently  by  not  far  off,  at  the 
right  of  the  railroad  track.  The  water  was  quite  shallow  at  this 
place,  and  long  banks  of  sand  extended  here  and  there  in  points  as 
far  as  one  could  see.  I  thus  walked  easily  half  way  across  the 
stream,  stepping  cautiously  over  rills  and  damp  and  soft  places, 
until  I  came  to  the  main  channel  of  the  water.  As  far  as  I  could 
see,  both  up  and  down  the  stream,  these  low  sand  flats  extended 
fully  half  way  across  the  bed  of  the  river ;  exposed  now,  though 
probably  a  part  of  the  year  several  feet  under  water. 

Dead  shells  of  various  species  of  Unio,  and  Anodo7i,  common  to 
fresh  water  rivers  farther  south  and  west,  were  everywhere  in  abun- 
dance. I  gathered  several  distinct  species,  all  of  which  probably 
live  in  the  river  in  great  numbers. 

But  time  progressing,  I  unwillingly  rehnquished  my  pleasant 
acquaintance  with  these  attractive  natural  surroundings  of  a  place, 
none  too  well  known  natural-history-wise,  and  pocketing  my  spec- 
imens started  for  the  station.     To  the  amusement  of  several  gen- 


32  ARRIVAL  AT  PORT  LEVIS. 

tlemen  of  the,  perhaps,  loafing  profession, — though  I  may  be  do- 
ing said  gentlemen  a  great  injustice,  for  which  I  beg  many  pardons, 
not  intending  my  remark  as  an  insult,  but  rather  using  the  word  in 
place  of  any  knowledge  of  the  occupation  of  said  persons  who 
were  strangers  to  me, — whose  inquisitiveness  led  them  to  assemble 
about  me  and  ask  various  questions,  I  emptied  my  pockets  on  the 
sill  of  a  window  of  the  station  house  and  proceeded  to  do  the 
specimens  up  carefully  in  papers  that  I  might  the  more  easily  carry 
them,  and  having  placed  them  in  a  satchel,  I  began  to  look  about  me 
for  the  train.  Before  long  it  approached  the  station,  and  after  stand- 
ing still  in  front  of  the  door  for  half  an  hour  or  so,  during  which 
time  we  transferred  our  portable  luggage  and  ourselves  to  a 
comfortable  seat  near  the  rear  of  the  last  car,  it  slowly  started  off, 
and  again  we  were  on  the  move. 

The  train  was  a  slow  one,  and  after  occupying  half  of  the  after- 
noon reading  I  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  remainder  of  the  trip 
on  the  rear  platform  watching  the  nature  of  the  country  through 
which  we  were  passing.  The  air  was  cool  and  clear,  and  veg- 
etation and  foliage  still  wore  their  summer  dress,  but  in  place  of 
the  usual  moist  feeling  which  New  England  air  possesses,  the  words 
dry  and  crisp  seem  to  express,  to  me  at  least,  the  condition  of 
earth  and  air  in  this  "cold  temperate  "  region  of  the  globe.  Stand- 
ing thus  and  enjoying  the  comfort  and  ease  with  which  the  car 
slowly  proceeded  through  the  varied  scenes  along  the  passage,  the 
shades  of  evening  approached,  and  as  darkness  came  on,  passing 
through  the  outskirts  of  what  was  apparently  a  manufacturing  vil- 
lage, by  day  the  scene  of  industry,  but  now  a  confusion  of  shops, 
sheds,  wharves  and  buildings,  as  seen  thus  in  the  darkness  of  night, 
we  came  at  last  to  the  celebrated  Port  Levis. 

It  was  night  when  we  reached  this  ancient  military  station,  and 
being  in  great  haste  to  see  to  the  transporting  of  our  luggage  to  the 
ferry  boat  which  was  then  waiting  for  us  and  the  other  passengers 
who  were  to  be  transported  to  the  Quebec  side,  there  was  no  op- 
portunity of  going  about  the  place  at  all  with  the  view  of  exam- 
ining its  huge  fortresses  of  military  fame,  and  of  which  we  had  read, 


CROSSING  THE  FERRY.  33 

as  well  as  its  other  attractions  of  merit ;  we  could  simply  reflect 
on  the  immense  cost  of  warfare,  and  of  the  reported  expenditure 
of  some  millions  of  dollars  in  the  construction  of  the  three  forts 
here  represented,  as  well  as  their  maintenance,  and  which,  defend- 
ing the  lower  harbor  and  city  of  Quebec,  rendered  the  place  fa- 
mous. If  my  memory  serves  me,  it  was  in  1759  that  the  lower 
town  of  Quebec  was  bombarded  from  the  heights  of  this  town  by 
General  Monckton,  at  the  time  the  English  captured  the  former 
place  and  reduced  it  to  an  English  Province.  Hastily  recaUing 
these  events  the  boat  is  quite  ready  to  leave,  and  we  are  soon  set- 
tled and  pursuing  our  way  accompanied  by  the  dash  and  splash 
of  the  paddles  as  heard  from  outside,  and  the  nearer  plunge  and 
spit  of  the  engine  as  it  drove  the  machinery,  while  the  fires  below 
roared  and  crackled,  and  the  boat  shivered  from  stem  to  stern  as 
she  urged  her  way  forward  in  the  dark  waters  which  sent  billows 
of  foam  on  either  side  of  the  prow,  to  reflect  an  instant  in  some 
light  either  from  the  vessels  near  by,  or  the  lamps  on  the  opposite 
shore. 

The  scene  that  presented  itself  to  us  as  we  stood  thus  on  deck 
looking  out  into  the  twilight  about  and  beyond  was  one  of  strange 
fantasy,  you  might  almost  say :  above,  on  our  left,  dark  frown- 
ing heights  were  illuminated  with  lamps  that  sent  their  rays 
in  many  directions  penetrating  the  darkness,  while  all  about  us  the 
solitary  lights  of  vessels  lying  at  anchor  glimmered  from  a  darkness, 
which  occasionally  reflected  a  darker  outline  of  the  vessel  to  whose 
light  we  were  nearest.  We  wove  in  and  out  of  these  until,  rounding 
the  cliff,  the  full  blaze  of  the  lower  town  shone  upon  us,  and 
showed  the  confusion  of  a  low-roofed  housed  city  on  the  left,  and 
a  river  full  of  boats,  vessels,  and  ships  of  all  kinds  and  descriptions 
on  the  right ;  thus  we  approached  the  landing. 

I  had  chosen  the  deck  of  this  little  ferry  steamer  for  my  outlook 
upon  the  city,  as  I  could  then  have  plenty  of  air,  and  be  free  from 
the  crowd  below.  The  boat  was  small  and  substantially  built, 
rather  cramped  for  standing  or  sitting  room,  and  inconvenient; 
besides,  the  body  of  the  lower  part  was  an  open  receptacle  for 
3 


34  ARRIVAL  IN  QUEBEC. 

bales,  boxes,  and  bags  of  luggage  which  nearly  filled  it,  and  the 
passengers'  rooms  small  and  full  of  angles  and  corners ;  every- 
where a  strong  smell  of  closeness  overladen  with  tobacco  smoke 
filled  the  air,  and  moving  about  was  attended  with  a  great  deal 
of  difficulty.  Congratulating  myself  that  I  had  secured  as  airy 
a  place  as  anybody,  and  viewing  the  scene  as  I  have  attempted  to 
describe  it,  we  slowly  made  the  landing  and  were  in  Quebec. 

The  lower  city  of  Quebec  presents  very  few  attractions  by  night 
to  a  stranger ;  the  streets  and  the  sidewalks  are  narrow,  while  both 
are  muddy  and  slippery  at  this  season  of  the  year,  especially 
if  it  has  lately  rained.  The  cooped-up  feeling  that  it  gives  you 
to  land  in  one  of  these  narrow  alley  streets  and  find  that  you 
know  nobody  and  nobody  knows  you,  that  you  don't  know  where  to 
go  and  a  dozen  cab  drivers  and  hotel  porters  all  say  that  you  are 
going  with  them,  is  a  peculiar  one  and  best  appreciated  by  anybody 
that  has  been  in  such  a  place  and  obliged  to  decide  immediately 
what  to  do,  or  have  it  decided  for  him  by  having  his  baggage 
and  himself  suddenly  ushered  into  a  cab  and  the  door  shut, —  this 
is  anything  but  pleasant.  Though  I  did  not  undergo  this  last  ex- 
perience literally,  it  was  so  near  becoming  such  that  the  cab  started 
off  with  the  luggage  ;  while,  after  a  few  inquiries  and  some  compli- 
cated directions,  I  started  off  to  find  the  wharf  at  which  the  vessel 
destined  to  convey  me  away  was  moored.  My  companions  and 
myself  went  together  and  after  travelling  through  various  streets  and 
turning  down  many  side  alleys,  all  of  which  presented  the  same 
dirty,  narrow,  and  contracted  general  appearance,  bestrewn  with 
plenty  of  mud  and  nearly  solitary,  we  approached  a  shed-like  open- 
ing on  the  opposite  side  of  a  very  dirty  street,  through  which  we 
passed  and  emerged  on  a  long  wharf,  on  either  side  of  which  were 
vessels  closely  packed  and  in  process  some  of  lading  and  some 
of  unlading.  Not  knowing  which  one  contained  the  object  of  our 
search, — the  captain,  with  whom  we  had  not  yet  even  taken  pas- 
sage,—  we  hailed  a  man  standing  by  and  inquired  of  him  ;  from  his 
reply,  only  given  after  the  question  had  been  repeated  in  French,  we 
found  the  vessel,  aroused  some  of  the  crew,  and  put  to  them  our 


STROLLING  ABOUT  THE  CITY.  35 

inquiries  for  the  captain  and  learned  that  he  was  probably  at  the  hotel 
to  which  our  luggage  had  been  taken.  There  being  nothing  to  do  but 
to  go  back  again  and  find  the  hotel,  we  started  off  in  no  very  pleas- 
ant spirits  at  the  failure  of  our  expedition.  Pursuing  the  way  in 
silence  we  again  reached  our  stopping  place,  found  the  captain,  en- 
gaged our  passage,  settled  all  the  preliminaries,  and  were  soon 
washed  and  sitting  down  to  a  spread  table  with  the  prospect  of  a 
comfortable,  hot  meal  of  the  best  the  place  afforded,  in  which  we 
were  not  deceived.  The  grossness  of  describing  a  meal,  unless  it 
is  an  exceptionally  good  or  an  extremely  poor  one,  is  so  obvious 
that  I  will  not  enter  into  the  details  of  ours,  but,  simply  using  the 
novelist's  phrase  say,  ''we  ate  as  only  hungry  persons  eat  with  a  sa- 
vory and  hot  meal  before  them."  I  retired  quite  early  after  supper 
being  rather  tired  with  the  excitement  of  the  previous  day's  journey, 
and  determined  now  that  we  had  reached  Quebec,  and  knowing 
that  we  had  all  the  next  day  before  us,  to  make  up  for  my  lost 
quota  of  sleep  of  the  previous  nights. 

Morning  came  at  last  and  with  it  I  sprang  from  my  bed,  quickly 
dressed  myself,  and  descended  to  the  hotel  office.  The  night  had 
been  a  good  one  for  sleeping,  the  air  was  cool  and  the  temperature 
outside  such  that  windows  could  be  safely  kept  open  all  night.  I 
had  slept  soundly,  not  waking  once  to  the  best  of  my  recollection 
till  morning ;  and  now,  refreshed  and  enthusiastic  for  a  day's  pleasure 
trip  about  the  city,  I  took  my  cap  and  went  out  for  a  short  stroll 
before  breakfast  which  was  not  yet  ready. 

As  a  rule  I  do  not  believe  in  introducing  borrowed  matter  into  a 
work  that  pretends  to  be  an  account  of  original  journey  and  explo- 
ration narrative,  but  as  occasionally  the  already  published  accounts 
of  well  known  places  visited  on  such  excursions,  from  the  pens  of 
accurate  writers,  are  so  much  more  complete  than  could  be  given 
by  any  passing  stranger,  that,  considering  myself  such  a  stranger, 
and  finding  in  a  little  volume  of  guidance  through  the  city  of 
Quebec  a  most  excellent  account  of  the  progress  and  gi'owth  of 
that  city,  I  will  venture  to  give  the  same  in  extract,  as  it  may  contain 
matter  new  to  many  and  interesting  to  all  ;-^ 


36  HISTORY  OF  QUEBEC. 


"  In  1534  Canada  was  discovered  by  Jacques  Cartier,  of  St.  Malo, 
in  France.  The  name  is  derived  from  'Kanata',  an  Indian  word 
signifying  'a  collection  of  huts.'  In  1535  Jacques  Cartier  made 
a  second  voyage  and  made  friends  with  Donnacona,  the  chief  of 
Stadacona,  where  Quebec  now  stands.  Stadacona  is  Algonquin, 
while  TiontiriH  is  Huron,  both  meaning  'the  narrowing  of  the 
river ; '  the  St.  Lawrence  being  less  than  a  mile  wide  opposite  the 
city.  Jacques  Cartier  wintered  in  the  river  St.  Charles  and  called 
it  St.  Croix.  His  winter  quarters  were  near  the  present  residence 
of  Mr.  Park  Ringfield.  In  1540  he  made  a  third  voyage  and  built 
a  fort  at  Cape  Rouge  and  also  visited  Hochelaga,  now  Montreal. 
In  1608  Champlain  arrived  at  Stadacona,  and  landing  his  followers 
founded  the  city  of  Quebec.  No  satisfactory  explanation  can  be 
given  of  the  meaning  of  the  word.  The  city  has  been  besieged  five 
different  times.  In  1629  Champlain  was  obliged  to  deliver  up 
everything  to  Sir  David  Kerkt ;  but  by  the  treaty  of  St.  Germain- 
en- Laye,  Canada  was  restored  to  France,  and  Champlain  returned 
as  Governor  of  the  colony.  In  October,  1690,  Sir  William  Phipps 
appeared  before  the  city  and  demanded  its  surrender  of  Count  de 
Frontenac  who  refused ;  after  a  harmless  bombardment  the  English 
retired.  In  1 7 1 1  another  English  fleet  under  Sir  Harendon  Walker 
sailed  for  Quebec,  but  was  nearly  destroyed  by  a  storm  in  the  Gulf 
of  St.  Lawrence  ;  for  these  two  last  deliverances  the  little  church 
in  the  lower  town  was  called  Notre  Dame  des  Victoires. 

"On  the  25th  of  June,  1759,  Admiral  Saunders  anchored  his 
fleet  and  transports,  with  General  Wolfe  and  the  English  army  on 
board,  off  the  Island  of  Orleans,  then  called  Isle  de  Bacchus. 
The  troops  landed  on  the  Island  on  the  following  day,  near  the 
church  of  St.  Laurent  and  marched  to  the  west  end  from  which 
position  they  could  view  Quebec  ;  the  French  army  under  Mont- 
calm, consisting  of  about  13,000  men,  was  encamped  on  the  oppo- 
site shore  of  Beauport.  General  Monckton,  with  four  battalions, 
occupied  the  heights  of  Levis  from  which  position  he  bombarded 
the  city  and  laid  it  in  ruins.  General  Wolfe  then  crossed  to  the 
mainland,  to  the  east  of  the  river  Montmorenci,  and  on  the  31st 


HISTORY  OF  QUEBEC.  #    37 

of  July  attacked  the  French  and  was  defeated  with  a  loss  of  182 
killed,  650  wounded,  and  15  missing.  After  some  delay  the  Eng- 
lish fleet  sailed  past  the  city  and  on  the  14th  of  September  landed 
his  troops  at  Wolfe's  Cove,  scaled  the  famous  heights  of  Abra- 
ham, met  the  astonished  Montcalm  and  defeated  him.  Wolfe  died 
on  the  field  in  the  moment  of  victory,  and  Montcalm,  killed  also, 
was  buried  in  the  Ursuline  Convent.  The  city  was  surrendered  to 
the  English  on  the  i8th  of  the  month  and  General  Murray  with 
6000  men  was  left  as  a  garrison, —  the  former  was  also  Governor. 
The  fleet  with  Wolfe's  body  sailed  for  England  in  October.  On 
the  28th  of  April  the  next  year  a  French  army  of  10,000  men, 
under  De  Levis,  appeared  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham  and  met 
Murray  with  3,000,  sickness  and  death  having  reduced  the  number. 
The  English  were  obliged  to  retire  behind  the  fortifications  of  the 
city,  but  on  the  15  th  of  May,  an  English  fleet  under  Commodore 
Saunders,  arrived  with  reinforcements,  and  compelled  the  French 
to  retreat.     At  this  time  Quebec  became  an  English  colony. 

"In  1775  Quebec  was  again  threatened.  General  Arnold,  with 
a  small  American  army,  arrived  on  the  heights  of  Levis  by  the 
Chaudiere  valley  and  on  the  14th  November  landed  at  Wolfe's 
Cove  ;  soon  General  Montgomery  took  command  ;  the  attack  was 
unsuccessful  though  much  property  was  destroyed  just  outside  the 
town,  while  Montgomery  was  killed  and  Arnold  wounded. 

"In  1837  Quebec  suffered  a  rebellion  within  its  own  walls.  The 
mihtia  were  called  out  and  the  city  placed  under  military  rule  but 
nothing  of  consequence  occurred.  One  night,  however,  there  was 
heard  a  loud  ringing  of  bells,  and  it  was  said  that  the  rebels  had 
risen  and  would  sack  the  place.  The  cause  of  all  this  alarm 
was,  nevertheless,  very  simple — the  singeing  of  a  pig  in  the  Hotel 
Dieu  Nunnery  Yard.  In  the  following  year  Messrs.  Teller  and 
Dodge,  two  American  sympathizers  imprisoned  with  three  others  in 
the  Citadel,  escaped  ;  four  of  them  let  themselves  down  from  the 
flagstaff  bastion,  and  Teller  and  Dodge  passing  the  city  gates 
reached  the  U.  S. 


38 


HISTORY  OF  QUEBEC. 


"In  1832  and  '34  Quebec  was  visited  by  the  Asiatic  Cholera. 
In  1834  the  Castle  St.  Louis  was  destroyed  by  fire.  On  May  28, 
1845,  the  whole  of  St.  Roche  was  burnt ;  on  June  28,  the  suburbs 
of  St.  John  and  St.  Louis  were  also  burnt ;  the  loss  by  these  two 
fires  was  over  ^2,000,000,  the  insurance  and  subscriptions  of  aid 
amounting  to  $900,000.  In  1846,  in  the  month  of  June,  the  Thea- 
tre, formerly  the  Riding  school  attached  to  the  Castle  of  St.  Louis, 
was  destroyed  by  fire  during  a  performance  when  the  building  was 
crowded, —  fifty-five  persons  lost  their  lives.  In  1853  the  Parlia- 
ment houses  were  burnt  down,  when  a  large  library  and  museum 
were  destroyed.  The  sittings  of  the  House  were  transferred  to 
the  Church  of  the  Grey  Sisters  near  Gallows  Hill  (which  had  not 
then  been  consecrated)  ;  this  also  burnt  down,  when  the  sittings 
were  held  in  Music  Hall  in  Louis  Street.  In  1867  the  Province  of 
Quebec  was  granted  a  colonial  government,  with  the  seat  of  the 
Province  at  Quebec." 


SIGHT-SEEING.  39 


CHAPTER  III. 


Our  stay  in  Quebec  —  Starting  for  Berthier  —  Berthier  —  Off  for  Labrador 
Bunking  in  —  Island  of  Orleans  —  Islands  and  Channels  —  Sunday- 
Other  Islands  —  The  Saguenay  —  Fog  again. 


I  WILL  not  attempt  to  give  a  description  of  my  feelings  at  being  in 
this  ancient  city,  nor  yet  will  I  give  an  account,  which  would  be 
much  inferior  to  many  former  similar  ones,  of  the  sights  I  saw  and 
the  impressions  they  left  upon  me  ;  all  this  has  been  done  so  often  by 
others  that  the  charm  of  novelty  would  be  lost,  and  it  would  prove 
only  a  waste  of  time  and  words  thus  to  attempt  to  describe,  from 
a  stay  of  only  a  few  days,  that  which  would  need  weeks  to  see 
properly.  I  will  therefore  hasten  to  say,  that  the  brief  stay  here 
was  spent  in  the  continual  pleasure  of  evening  rambles  about  town, 
combined  with  the  necessity  and  in  truth  unpleasantness  of  mak- 
ing daily  purchases  for  a  year's  sojourn  in  a  country  about  which  I 
knew  very  little ;  yet  the  pleasure,  counterbalancing  this  unpleas- 
antness, so  far  exceeded  it,  that  I  remember  the  fonner  while  forget- 
ting the  latter.  The  walks  about  the  Terrace,  of  a  calm,  clear 
evening,  both  before  and  after  the  lamps  were  lighted,  displayed 
the  lower  city  and  harbor  —  the  former  with  its  rows  of  roofs,  for 
they  were  the  only  parts  of  the  houses  visible,  and  the  latter  with  its 
countless  masts  and  water-vehicles  from  the  boat  to  the  man-of-war, 
of  which  three  lay  swinging  at  the  end  of  their  cables  just  near  the 
channel  over  against  the  opposite  shore,  the  whole  scene  present- 
ing a  silent  witness  to  the  industry  of  the  day ;  then  the  view  of 
Point  Levis  from  the  walls  of  the  upper  city ;  and  a  trip  around  the 
city  itself, — all  these  are  pleasures  to  be  remembered  ;  and  I  shall 


40  PREPARING  FOR  DEPARTURE. 

remember  them  with  a  fresh  dehght  whenever  I  recall  the  circum- 
stances that  caused  me  to  start  upon  this  Labrador  trip,  for  the 
invigorating  air  of  new  scenes  and  a  new  climate. 

Friday,  in  the  evening,  we  started  from  the  hotel,  with  our  bag- 
gage, for  the  vessel.  Arriving  there  we  deposited  our  effects  on 
the  wharf,  whence  they  were  speedily  transported  to  the  deck; 
then  the  trunks  were  taken  to  the  hold  and  the  bags  and  boxes  to  the 
cabin  of  the  vessel,  and  we  stationed  ourselves  to  wait  for  the  captain, 
as  we  expected  him  to  start  that  night.  After  waiting  several  hours, 
and  some  after  dark  and  consequently  past  supper  time, — which 
fact  I  mention  since  our  dinner  had  been  taken  early  and  it  was  now 
fast  getting  late, — he  arrived  in  a  great  hurry,  and  then  we  learned 
that  the  vessel  must  wait  until  high  tide  (it  was  then  low  and  we 
could  see  the  muddy  bottom  near  the  vessel),  which  would  not  be 
until  about  three  next  morning,  before  leaving ;  the  ladies  of  the 
party  not  caring  to  sleep  in  so  exposed  a  situation,  the  captain 
kindly  invited  us  to  the  hotel,  where  we  all  went  with  him,  partook 
of  an  oyster  supper,  and  passed  the  night  quite  comfortably.  The 
vessel  started  in  the  morning  for  Berthier,  where  we  were  to  meet 
her  the  next  day  noon  by  a  little  steamer  that  runs  from  Quebec 
and  makes  that  place  one  of  its  stopping  stations.  The  night's  rest 
had  refreshed  us  and  the  next  morning,  quite  disconsolately,  we 
wandered  about  the  streets  of  the  lower  city,  and  the  wharf  whence 
the  steamer  was  to  leave,  waiting  for  the  time  of  departure,  which 
came  slowly.  It  was  market-day,  and  the  streets,  especially  the 
square  about  the  market,  were  crowded  with  all  sorts  and  nationali- 
ties of  people  buying  their  week's  provisions  ;  we  watched  them  for 
a  long  time,  and  were  especially  amused  in  noticing  the  people 
who  failed  to  catch  the  ferry  boat  that  landed  not  far  from  us. 
Some  ran  for  it  and,  leaping,  caught  it,  but  others  running  for  it 
failed  to  catch  it ;  and  as  the  boats  alternated  with  each  other  every 
fifteen  minutes,  there  was  always  some  one  in  a  state  of  frenzy 
with  the  retreating  ferry  for  a  fault  for  which  he  alone  was  to  blame  ; 
there  were  several  old  women  with  large  baskets,  evidently  returning 
home  from  market ;  two  or  three  priests  ;  and  a  number  of  other  peo- 


BERTHIER.  41 


pie  who  were  successively  left  by  the  retreating  boat, — some  express- 
ing their  indignation  while  others,  like  ourselves,  contented  themselves 
to  wait  their  turn.  At  last,  twelve  o'clock,  and  our  captain,  came  ; 
and  the  steamer  started.  We  slowly  passed  along  the  channel, 
watching  the  scenes  on  either  bank,  and,  leaving  the  city  with  its 
confusion  and  the  harbor  with  its  abundance  of  crafts  of  all  kinds, 
we  steamed  into  pure  waters,  clearer  atmosphere,  and  the  rocky 
borders  of  the  mighty  St.  Lawrence.  On  our  left  we  presently 
passed,  if  I  remember  rightly,  the  famous  falls  of  Montmorency — 
at  least  we  saw  a  precipitous  mass  of  dashing,  struggling  waters, 
that  looked  the  mighty  cascade  that  it  probably  was — while  a  short 
turn  soon  brought  us  to  the  Berthier  wharf.  Our  vessel  was  at  the 
wharf  receiving  her  last  cargo,  in  the  shape  of  potatoes  and  sev- 
eral kinds  of  fresh  vegetables,  for  her  voyage,  and  as  it  would  take 
several  hours  to  complete  the  loading  we  accepted  the  captain's 
kind  invitation  to  visit  his  home  and  dine  there  with  him.  Berthier 
is  a  small  French  Canadian  village,  situated  on  the  southern  side  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  very  nearly  opposite  the  eastern  extremity 
of  the  island  of  Orleans ;  it  is  about  fifteen  miles  from  Quebec. 
The  long  wharf  built  for  the  accommodation  of  freight  and  coal, 
extending  far  into  the  water,  had  several  vessels  lying  at  each  side, 
either  being  or  waiting  to  be  loaded,  and  though  the  coal  dust 
was  everywhere  under  foot,  and  in  the  air  flying  in  our  faces,  we 
forced  ourselves  through  it  and  soon  reached  a  cleaner  footing 
and  much  purer  air.  A  walk  up  a  rather  long  slightly  sloping 
hill  brought  us  to  the  principal  street,  along  which  low  roofed,  yet 
small  and  cosey  looking  houses,  for  the  most  part  clean  with 
white  paint,  not  yet  ugly  from  exposure,  with  their  correspond- 
ing barns  —  mostly  unpainted  —  extended  on  either  side  where 
the  open  fields  on  the  right  near  the  water,  and  high  hillocks  of 
granite  on  the  left,  back  of  the  houses,  had  not  established  a  prior 
claim.  As  neat  a  house  as  appeared,  on  this  apparently  one 
streeted  township  of  about  fifty  houses — if  the  town  was  really  no 
larger  than  it  seemed — was  that  of  our  Captain,  and  we 
passed  a  quiet  time  both  before  and  after  a  hearty,  homely  meal, 


42  BUNKING  IN. 


until  about  dusk,  when  we  started  for  the  wharf  again  taking  a  cut 
across  the  meadows  in  the  direction  of  the  water,  having  seen  very 
little  of  the  town  itself,  though  enough  to  commend  it  as  an  old 
fashioned,  curious  place,  well  worth  visiting  and  investigating. 
Soon  the  wharf  was  gained  ;  a  boat  waiting  bore  us  to  the  vessel, 
which  by  this  time  had  finished  her  loading  and  was  lying  at  anchor 
out  in  the  channel,  and  with  a  dim  twilight  at  our  backs,  a  light- 
house in  front  of  us,  and  a  bonny  breeze  to  shape  our  course,  we 
hoisted  sail  and  bade  farewell  to  the  last  landing  this  side  of  "The 
Labrador,"  whither  we  shaped  our  course.  We  were  at  last  really 
moving.  The  vessel  was  really  gliding  along  under  the  pressure  of 
the  wind  towards  that  region  so  prominent  on  the  eastern  part  of 
northern  North  America,  yet  so  little  known,  called  the  plateau  of 
Labrador,  or,  as  the  people  themselves  call  it,  as  I  have  above 
quoted,  "The  Labrador." 

It  is  by  no  means  an  easy  matter  to  arrange  four  persons,  let  us 
say  for  example  two  men  and  two  ladies — though  it  makes  very  little 
difference  as  to  the  number  and  sex  when  even  a  single  person  is,  so 
to  speak,  unceremoniously  deposited  in  a  small  cabin  of  a  small 
saihng  vessel,  and  shown  a  small  bunk  in  which  to  sleep,  scarcely 
big  enough  for  one  yet  the  usual  abode  of  two  able  bodied  (  ?)  sea- 
men— in  such  contracted  compartments  as  those  we  were  about  to  oc- 
cupy :  how  the  affair  was  brought  to  a  happy  termination  I  cannot 
tell.  Our  voyage  would  last  about  a  week,  our  accommodations 
for  that  time  jnidtum  in  parvo,  and  with  a  more  literal  meaning 
than  we  had  ever  before  imagined  that  the  words  could  possibly  con- 
vey. Our  trunks  were  expelled  from  the  cabin  and  confined  to  the 
hold ,;  our  bags  were  insufficient  at  best  to  meet  our  wants  ;  the  mat- 
ter was  thus  ludicrous  as  well  as  provokingly  uncomfortable  and  in- 
convenient. While  we  were  enjoying  ourselves  on  the  outside  of 
the  cabin,  watching  the  stars,  the  dim  outlines  of  the  shores  in  the 
darkness  around,  and  the  darker  yet  sparkling  water  —  sparkling 
from  the  reflection  of  the  stars — the  ladies  were  somehow  prepar- 
ing affairs  below  ;  soon  they  joined  us,  and  we  together  sat  watching, 
we  could  hardly  tell  what  (the  custom  usually  seems  to  be  when 


ISLAND  OF  ORLEANS.  43 

starting  on  a  sea  trip,  to  spend  the  first  evening  on  deck) ,  until  the 
lateness  and  chilliness  of  the  hour  reminded  us  of  our  berths  below, 
and  descending  the  narrow  stairs  or  steps  of  the  cabin  we  sought 
them  and  were  soon  wrapped  in  slumber  in  spite  of  the  uncom- 
fortableness  of  our  contracted  and  narrow  box-beds. 

I  will  not  describe  either  the  ship  or  the  accommodations  provided 
for  us  while  we  traversed  the  St.  Lawrence  to  our  destination ;  the  lat- 
ter would  be  too  personal  a  matter, — though  it  was  the  best  the  place 
afforded, —  and  the  former,  hardly  differing  from  the  thousand  water 
conveyances,  of  similar  shape  and  size,  too  trivial  and  uninterest- 
ing to  be  worth  mention  here.  Four  of  us,  who  were  together  bound 
for  the  same  place,  made  the  best  and  freest  use  of  both  ship  and 
accommodations,  while  the  sociality  usual  on  shipboard  prevailed 
with  great  harmony.  In  so  small  a  vessel  we  could  not  but  take  an 
interest  in  all  that  occurred,  and  in  all  the  crew,  and  they,  no  doubt, 
took  full  notice  of  all  we  said  or  did ;  while  the  wonder  expressed 
in  their  faces  whenever  I  at  least  met  them  seemed  plainly  to  say, 
why  are  you  going  to  such  a  place  as  Labrador?  to  which  mute 
question  I  reserved  the  probable  and  veracious  answer  — I  hardly 
know  myself,  why.  Now  that  we  were  fully  started  upon  our 
journey,  the  chart,  the  directions  for  sailing,  and  what  we  did  and 
saw  occupied  our  chief  attention,  and  as  we  pursued  our  way  we 
studied  these  diligently. 

In  going  to  Berthier  by  the  steamer  we  had  passed  the  Island  of 
Orleans,  that  curious,  oval  island  only  three  miles  outside  of  Quebec 
that  so  nearly  fills  the  river  at  this  point.  It  lies  like  an  egg  in  the 
very  centre  of  the  stream  with  only  a  narrow  pass  on  either  side,  and 
while  its  length  is  full  eighteen  miles,  its  width  is  scarcely  five.  The 
north  shore  being  rather  flat  and  muddy  with  more  or  less  rocky  out- 
line, the  south  shore  with  its  sandy  beach  and  few  rocky  points  pre- 
sents the  best  and  most  used  channel  for  vessels  going  to  and  from 
Quebec.  From  a  central  elevation  of  some  three  hundred  and 
seventy-five  feet  the  land  slopes  to  the  rather  steep  banks  around  it. 
We  did  not  see  much  of  the  beautiful  gardens  and  places  which  are 
said  to  occupy  the  southern  slope  of  the  island,  neither  did  we  see 


44  CHANNELS  AND  ISLANDS. 

the  little  churches  of  St.  Lawrence  and  St.  John  though  standing 
near  the  shore,  since  we  had  no  one  to  point  them  out  to  us.  The 
two  lighthouses,  that  of  St.  John  village  with  its  white  revolving 
flash  every  half-minute,  which  is  visible  ten  miles,  and  that  of  St. 
Lawrence  village  with  its  fixed  white  light  visible  eight  miles,  would 
also  have  escaped  our  notice,  as  we  passed  them  in  the  daytime  and 
not  the  night,  but  that  the  white  towers  seen  from  the  wharf  attracted 
our  attention.  On  leaving  Berthier  a  small  fixed  light  on  a  Httle 
island,  known  as  Belle  Chasse  Island,  guided  us  towards  the  entrance 
of  that  part  of  the  channel  known  as  the  Middle  Traverse.  Leaving 
the  North  Channel,  separated  from  our  route  by  a  shoal  of  rocks 
and  reefs  on  the  north,  and  the  South  Traverse,  similarly  separated 
on  the  south,  we  pursued  our  way,  by  this  time  guided  by  the  fixed 
light  on  the  western  end  of  Crane  Island,  which  with  Goose  Island, 
forms  a  very  narrow,  meadowy,  and  muddy  strip  of  land,  some  fif- 
teen miles  long  between  us  and  South  Traverse,  until  we  had  safely 
passed  the  dangerous  shoal  in  the  centre  of  the  Traverse ;  then, 
coming  into  clear  open  water,  we  saw  the  light  boats  of  St.  Roque 
on  our  right,  and  Isle  aux  Coudres  on  our  left  as  we  sailed  easily 
and  pleasandy  along  the  now  safe  passage  before  us.  Soon  the 
captain  with  the  chart  showed  us  our  position,  and  a  hasty  glance 
as  we  passed  this  little  island,  about  twice  as  long  as  it  is  broad  (5^ 
miles  by  2^),  lying  snugly  tucked  away  in  a  baylike  enlargement 
of  the  north  shore,  revealed  but  a  glimpse  of  Notre  Dame  Church 
steeple  as  we  passed  to  the  open  water  beyond.  Here  we  came 
for  the  first  time  upon  the  open  river,  a  distance  of  about  eleven 
miles  across  from  Mai  Bay  (which  is  ninety  miles  from  Quebec  and 
noted  for  its  salt-water  bathing  and  trout  fishing,  the  sports  of  its 
summer  visitors,  who  are  often  quite  numerous) ,  with  its  bold,  rocky 
point  on  which  a  light  is  situated  while  the  shoals  are  only  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  from  shore  on  the  north,  to  Riviere  Quelle,  with  its 
summer  pleasure  grounds  and  hotel  only  ninety-two  miles  from 
Quebec  on  the  south  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence  ;  only  a  little  below 
which  point,  this  hilly  region  of  earthquakes  bears  the  name  of  Les 
Eboulements.     But  it  is  now  Sunday,  and  the  ladies  have  fixed  their 


SUNDAY  ON  THE  SEA.  45 

abodes,  and  with  fair  winds  and  a  good  run  we  compose  ourselves 
to  the  first  real  rest  that  we  have  had  since  leaving  home  eight 
days  before.  We  read  and  doze  in  the  bright,  warm  sun  like  dogs, 
or  cats,  or  insects,  insensible  to  all  save  the  inspiration  of  rest  and 
the  enjoyment  of  ease. 

At  sea  on  board  a  vessel  there  are  two  counteracting  influences 
at  work  to  render  Sunday — especially  if  it  come  as  ours  did  on 
the  next  day  after  setting  sail — either  a  day  of  rest  or  a  day  of  un- 
rest. In  the  latter  case,  to  one  who  would  not  attend  any  place  of 
divine  worship,  even  were  he  at  home  and  on  shore,  the  desire  to 
be  quiet  is  drowned  by  a  deluge  of  worldly  activity  that  waits  and 
longs  for  the  morrow  that  his  conscience  may  be  easy  in  pursuing 
his  own  pleasures,  and  so  the  hours  pass  heavily,  and  "  the  longest 
day  I  have  known  for  a  perfect  age,"  as  it  is  often  aptly  styled,  comes 
to  its  close,  with  no  refreshment  to  the  mind,  and  thus  a  con- 
tinued increase  rather  than  decrease  of  the  bodily  infirmities  ;  since 
the  real  health  of  the  body  is,  in  a  certain  measure  and  to  a  greater 
extent  than  perhaps  we  imagine,  dependent  upon  that  refreshment 
of  mind,  from  a  spiritual  source.  In  the  former  case,  it  is  differ- 
ent. A  day  of  rest  means,  in  every  sense  of  the  word  a  day  of 
rest,  mentally  and  spiritually,  hence,  more  or  less  directly,  bodily. 
While  many  thousands  enjoyed  this  rest  in  attending  church  at  their 
homes  this  beautiful  Sabbath  day,  we  enjoyed  it  in  indulging  our 
own  thoughts  of  rest,  quiet,  and  all  good  things,  while  bathing  in  a 
flood  of  bright,  warm  sunlight ;  while  watching  the  almost  calm 
surface  of  the  now  sun-reflecting  water ;  and  while  reading  or  con- 
versing with  each  other  on  pleasant  topics,  yet  in  no  mere  sensual 
manner. 

Night  came  soon  enough,  and  if  the  day  had  been  quiet  and 
peaceful,  the  evening,  with  its  moon  full  at  yesternight,  was  much 
more  so.  After  an  almost  perfect  day  we  retired  to  rest.  The 
clear  sky  remained  throughout  but  part  of  the  night  and  then  gave 
place  to  clouds ;  the  calm,  warm,  almost  hot  weather  turned  them 
to  mist,  fog  and  then  rain ;  the  west  wind  to  east  southeast. 

We   awoke    Monday   morning   with   an   uncomfortable    feeling 


46  THE  NEIGHBORHOOD  OF  GREEN  ISLAND. 

of  dampness  all  about  us,  of  chilliness  within  us,  and  an  atmos- 
phere of  thick,  sticky  saltwater  — and  especially  St.  Lawrence  salt- 
water noted  for  its  nature  as  described — above,  around,  and  on  all 
sides,  enveloping  the  vessel  and  shutting  out  earth  and  sky  and 
water.  We  were  in  the  miserable  arms  of  a  light  attempt  at  New- 
foundland fog,  to  us  a  most  admirable  display  of  those  qualities  so 
inherent  to  the  atmosphere  about  and  around  all  parts  of  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  If  this  was  a  taste  of  what  was  to  come, 
no  wonder  that  they  were  noted  the  world  over ;  and  one  could 
readily  believe  the  old  saying  that  "  the  inhabitants  of  Newfound- 
land use  their  fog  for  cloth,  cut  it  with  scissors,  and  make  shirts 
and  breeches  of  it."  The  vessel,  of  course,  wasobhged  to  anchor. 
Once  during  the  day  we  tried  to  proceed,  but,  unable  to  do  so,  we 
anchored  again,  this  time  off  Green  Island,  to  which  place  several 
of  us  went  to  examine  the  hunting,  while  the  crew  searched  for 
dry  wood — a  hard  thing  to  find — to  burn.  We  had  passed,  up  to 
this  time,  several  noticeable  places  both  on  shore  and  in  the  shape 
of  islands  close  to  us  ;  and  as  it  is  well  to  know  the  important  items 
of  interest  connected  with  places  thus  visited  or  passed  by  the  tour- 
ist, let  us  see  what  has  escaped  us.  On  our  right,  directly  opposite 
Mai  Bay,  the  group  of  Kamouraska  islands  just  hides  the  village 
(with  its  little  church,  hotel,  and  other  buildings)  by  the  same  name. 
As  a  pleasure  resort  it  is  noted  in  Quebec  and  the  neighboring 
regions  for  its  fresh,  country-like  appearance,  as  are  most  of 
the  villages  on  the  south  shore  of  the  river,  and  its  excellent  bath- 
ing. A  little  farther  on  the  same  side,  the  Pilgrims — whence  the 
name  I  cannot  tell — another  smaller  group  (five  small  islands), 
about  six  miles  further  eastward,  are  quite  interesting  in  a  scientific 
point  of  view.  They  are  quite  near  the  land  and  connected  by 
reefs  dry  at  low  water.  Though  small  at  best,  the  largest  of  these 
islands,  nearly  two  hundred  and  ninety  feet  high,  is  well  wooded. 
Still  but  a  short  distance  farther  east  are  the  three  small,  steep 
islands  called  the  Brandy  Pots.  The  most  northern  and  largest, 
being  half  the  height  of  the  largest  of  the  Pilgrim  group,  and  also 
partially  wooded,  is  often  visited  at  the  fine  spring  of  water  on  its 


CACOUNA.  47 


southwestern  extremity,  which  spring  dries  only  in  the  warmest 
weather.  About  and  around  nearly  all  of  these  islands  reefs  and 
rocks  are  everywhere  visible.  I  am  not  confident  that  we  passed 
through  the  narrows  between  the  Pilgrims  and  Hare  Island 
Bank,  but  think  that  we  did ;  at  any  rate,  when  about  opposite 
Riviere  du  Loup  we  had  Hare  Island  on  our  left.  The  two  oblong 
islands  called  Hare  and  White,  the  latter  just  east  of  the  former  and 
very  much  smaller,  with  their  reefs,  which  are  quite  extensive,  are 
about  twenty  miles  long  ;  of  their  nature  I  was  unable  to  judge.  I  was 
much  interested  in  spying  the  distant  horizon  of  Riviere  du  Loup, 
formerly  so  much  frequented  by  the  fashionable  of  Canada — as 
well  as  elsewhere  —  a  village  of  great  attractions  I  am  told  ;  while 
not  far  from  it  Cacouna,  hardly  a  hundred  miles  from  Quebec,  the 
now  favorite  resort  of  the  people  of  Canada,  with  its  many  elegant 
establishments  and  cosey  summer  residences  graces  this  part  of  the 
coast.  Many  sportsmen  take  pleasant  fishing  trips  and  frequent 
baths  in  the  chosen  resorts  and  not  cold  waters  about  here  ;  while 
the  temperature,  they  tell  me,  is  delightful.  It  is  not  long — not 
twenty  years  ago  —  since  this  place  was  of  comparatively  little  ac- 
count and  notice,  with  only  a  rocky  peninsula  some  four  hundred 
feet  high  to  commend  it  to  the  scientist,  hardly  the  tourist.  It  is 
now  a  fashionable  resort. 

We  had  hesitated  for  some  time  as  to  whether  it  were  best  to  an- 
chor where  we  at  last  did,  or  by  Red  Island  just  on  our  left,  named 
from  the  color  of  its  soil  and  rocks,  which  is  a  low,  flat  island  of 
little  importance,  when  we  decided  in  favor  of  the  former  place. 
At  any  rate  I  remembered  that  we  were  opposite  the  noted  and  far 
famed  Saguenay  river,  the  largest  on  this  part  of  the  coast,  rising 
in  lake  St.  John,  about  ninety  miles  directly  west  from  the  river's 
mouth.  A  place  of  so  much  interest  and  importance  needs  better 
words  than  I  can  give,  having  never  even  seen  it,  so  I  will  copy  from 
another  author,  though  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  give  you  other 
peoples'  adventures  and  descriptions  as  a  rule. 

In  describing  the  mouth  of  the  river,  which  is  full  of  shoals  and 
reefs,  he  says :  ''Saguenay  river  has  an  entrance  between  Vaches 


48  SAGUENAY  RIVER. 


point  on  the  northeast,  and  Lark  point  composed  of  low  clay  cliffs 
on  the  southwestern  side,  from  each  of  which  dangerous  reefs  pro- 
ject into  the  St.  Lawrence.  These  reefs  leave  an  entrance  into  the 
Saguenay  only  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  though  nowhere  less 
than  ten  or  eleven  fathoms  deep." 

He  then  goes  on  to  say,  "That  this  extraordinary  river,  which  was 
imperfectly  known  until  the  late  surveys,  is  as  remarkable  for  the  great 
volume  of  water  whicli  it  brings  down  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  as  for 
the  enormous  depth  of  its  bed,  which  is  fully  one  hundred  fathoms 
lower  than  that  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  It  comes  from  the  lake  St. 
John,  and  at  Cliicoutimi,  a  trading  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, which  is  sixty-five  miles  above  its  mouth,  it  becomes  naviga- 
ble, and  six  miles  above  which,  to  the  rapids,  the  tide  ascends.  To 
point  Roches,  fifty-seven  miles  from  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  eight 
miles  below  Chicoutimi,  it  is  navigable  for  the  largest  ships,  and  up 
to  this  part  there  is  no  danger  in  the  river ;  the  shores  consist  of 
steep  precipices,  some  of  the  headlands  rising  more  than  a  thou- 
sand feet  in  height. 

"The  current  runs  down  with  great  force,  the  ebb  tide  varying  from 
three  to  five  knots  according  to  the  breadth  of  the  river,  which  is 
from  two-thirds  of  a  mile  to  two  miles.  Tadousac,  which  is  on 
the  eastern  shore,  is  about  one  and  one-half  miles,  within  the 
entrance  of  the  river,  and  was  formerly  the  principal  post  of  the 
French  for  trading  with  the  Indians.  It  now  belongs  to  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company.  The  harbor  is  abreast  the  settlement,  and  is 
well  sheltered  :"  but  for  the  scientific  value  of  the  facts  it  would 
be  needless  to  add  that  "a  heavy  anchor  should  be  cast  close  in 
shore  on  account  of  the  eddies  which  sometimes  set  into  it  from 
the  river. 

"Fronting  the  mouth  of  the  river  there  is  a  kind  of  bar  upon 
which  are  twelve,  twenty,  and  twenty-eight  fathoms,  but  immedi- 
ately within  the  depth  increases  to  above  one  hundred,  and  a  little 
farther  up  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms.  The  current  setting 
strongly  over  the  bar,  meeting  with  the  spring  ebbs  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, causes  breaking  and  whirling  eddies  and  ripplings  ;  and  these 


THE  SAGUENAY  RIVER.  49 

Streams  opposed  to  a  heavy  easterly  gale  cause  an  exceedingly  high, 
cross,  and  breaking  sea  in  which  no  boat  could  live.  On  the  flood 
at  such  times,  there  is  no  more  sea  than  in  other  parts  of  the  river. 
A  fixed  white  light  is  exhibited  from  Lark  islet ;  the  tower  is  a 
square  white  building ;  the  light  is  thirty-five  feet  above  high  water, 
and  visible  ten  miles.  Two  range  lights  (fixed  white)  are  shown 
on  the  western  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  river ;  one  eighty-two 
feet  above  high  water,  on  point  Noir,  distant  one  and  a  half  miles 
from  Lark  islet  lighthouse ;  the  other  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
feet  above  the  sea  and  distant  from  it  about  six  hundred  yards,  and 
are  for  the  purpose  of  leading  vessels  clear  of  Prince  shoal.  Bar 
reef,  and  Vaches  patch,  and  visible  nine  miles."  A  curious  fact,  be- 
sides all  this  nautical  description  above  quoted,  appears  from  the 
description  of  another  writer  who  says  :  "At  spring  tides  a  large  body 
of  water  passes  over  the  Chicoutimi  shoals  (at  a  very  rapid  rate  du- 
ring ebb  tides) ,  and  falling  suddenly  into  deep  water  seems  to  strike 
downward  at  once,  leaving  but  a  slight  current  on  the  surface." 
The  Chicoutimi  river  enters  the  Saguenay  about  sixty-five  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  latter.  Further  on  he  adds  :  "The  strong  flood 
tides  over  the  bar,  at  the  entrance  of  Saguenay  river,  falling  suddenly 
into  deep  water,  may  also  contribute  to  a  certain  extent  to  check 
the  strength  of  the  surface-current  of  the  river."  A  singular  fact 
appears  that  at  Tadousac  was  built  the  Jifst  church  in  Canada,  I 
understand  that  it  is  still  standing. 

I  have  not  forgotten  that  it  is  Monday  morning,  a  damp,  foggy 
day — for  which  reason  we  find  ourselves  anchored  near  Green  isl- 
and, by  whose  reefs  it  is  most  dangerous  to  pass  except  in  clear 
weather ;  thus  it  happens  that  we  take  the  boat  and  are  rowed  to 
the  island  on  our  first  gunning  expedition.  We  find  the  island  low 
and  rocky,  with  occasional  sand  patches  on  the  southern  shore  :  on 
the  east  some  half  a  mile  long,  narrow  rocky  points,  almost  reefs, 
are  above  high  tide,  while  rocks  and  shoals  are  distributed  quite 
abundantly  all  around  the  island.  Not  three  miles  north  and  a 
little  east  of  Green  is  Apple  (or  Pomme  as  the  French  call  it)  island ; 
between  the  two  is  a  reef  of  slate  rock,  visible  at  low  tide.  The 
4 


50  BLOWING  THE  FOG  HORN. 

passage,  at  high  tide,  between  these  two  islands,  is  but  very  shallow 
at  best,  and  not  fit  for  vessels  to  go  between.  From  a  square  white 
tower  on  the  northern  part  of  the  island,  a  fixed  light,  sixty  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  visible  fourteen  miles,  shines  by  night.  We  heard 
the  half  hour  gun,  from  this  same  quarter,  during  the  fog — it  is 
also  fired  during  dense  snowstorms  —  all  the  time  we  were  anchored  ; 
and  far  into  the  night  its  heavy  and  loud  boom  echoed  to  our  ears 
with  a  dull  thundering  roar.  Our  hunting,  not  as  successful  as  it 
might  have  been,  brought  several  species  of  birds  to  our  notice,  but 
our  wet  clothes  called  for  more  attention  than  our  birds,  for  the 
time  being,  while  we  dried  ourselves  as  well  as  we  could  under 
the  circumstances.  The  next  morning  as  the  fog  cleared  away  the 
cFmk,  chnk,  clinkety  clink,  of  the  anchor  chain,  as  all  hands 
heaved  at  the  patent  windlass,  sounded  merrily  (it  was  about  six 
o'clock)  on  the  otherwise  quite  still  air,  and  before  long  we  were 
dashing  along  with  a  breeze  that  had  by  this  time  nearly  cleared  the 
air  of  fog,  though  it  was  soon  on  us  again  as  thick  as  ever ;  but  we 
were  past  the  dangerous  shoals  and  in  free  water,  so  we  kept  on 
our  course,  and  let  the  thick  fog  come  on  again.  Little  we  cared  for 
it  although  we  kept  the  old  tin  fog  horn,  with  its  toot-toot-toot, 
and  tootety  toot,  going  all  the  morning.  A  vessel's  fog  horn  is  an 
old  fashioned  institution,  and  consists  of  a  tin  horn  similar  to  that 
used  by  venders  of  fish,  yeast,  and  other  articles  of  street  com- 
merce ;  or  by  the  noisy  college  student  in  his  rows  between  classes 
or  his  midnight  music,  of  horrid  notoriety,  at  home.  The  main  dif- 
ference is  that  the  tin  is  unpainted  or  unvarnished,  and  the  whole 
horn  shorter  and  less  clumsy.  Any  one  can  blow  it,  and  on  this 
particular  morning,  any  one  did.  It  lay  upon  the  deck  of  the  cabin, 
and  while  it  was  the  special  duty  of  the  man  at  the  wheel  to  "tend 
it,"  as  is  sometimes  said,  everybody  that  came  around  had  his  or 
her  turn  at  it.  It  acts  as  a  warning  to  other  craft  that  we  are 
around  and  coming,  while  all  vessels  use  one  in  a  dense  fog.  We 
had  started  from  Quebec  with  a  consort,  in  the  shape  of  another 
vessel,  supposed  to  be  a  slower  sailer  than  ours,  of  similar  size  and 
lading,  bound  for  the  same  ports  with  us.      In  fact  one  captain 


OUT-SAILED  BY  OUR  CONSORT. 


51 


owned  both,  and  was  on  a  trading  expedition  down  along  the  coast. 
In  the  thick  fog  we  had  lost  her  :  supposing  her  to  be  still  behind  us 
the  continued  sounding  of  the  fog  horn,  more  often  than  otherwise 
necessary,  was  to  let  her  know  where  we  were.  Imagine  our  surprise 
when,  on  the  lifting  of  the  fog  for  a  few  moments,  we  just  saw  the 
vessel  in  the  dim  distance  ahead,  and  not  behind  us  ;  she  had  got 
ahead,  and  kept  so,  for  the  rest  of  the  voyage,  outsaiHng  us ;  we 
could  not  and  did  not  catch  her  at  all  until  near  our  second  stop- 
ping place  at  Bonne  Esperance,  nearly  eight  hundred  miles  from 
Quebec. 


r-)Ty 


52  WEATHER  — WHITE   PORPOISES. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


The  weather  —  Beluga  horealis  and  other  huge  Animals  —  A  Sundog  — 
Birds  —  The  Rusty  Blackbird  —  Bradore  hills  —  Varieties  of  rocks  — 
Coast  line  about  St.  Augustine  —  Reaching  Bonne  Esperance  —  Old 
Fort  island  —  Eider  duck  —  Other  birds  —  Garden  vegetables  —  Hay  — 
Raised  beaches  —  Labrador  dogs  —  Searching  for  drift-wood. 


Wednesday,  September  22.  The  weather  to-day  was  cold  and 
chilly,  but  clear ;  the  wind  blew  strong  west-southwest.  I  made  a 
reckoning  of  both  thermometer  and  barometer,  and  found  that 
throughout  the  day  they  ranged  as  follows:  at  8  a.  m,,  ther.  51, 
bar.  28.45;  ^t  12  M,,  ther.  57,  bar.  28.50;  at  4  p.  m.,  ther.  51, 
bar.  28.57  ;  and  at  6  p.  m.,  ther.  50,  bar.  28.52.  This  is  an  aver- 
age pleasant  day  in  this  locality.  We  are  now  about  opposite 
Point  de  Monts,  and  swiftly  approaching  the  Gulf.  With  a  fair 
breeze  the  vessel  flew  along  the  water  sending  clouds  of  spray 
way  over  the  side  of  the  prow.  Although  there  was  quite  a  breeze 
the  surface  of  the  water  a  little  way  from  the  vessel  was  quite  even. 
We  saw  plenty  of  porpoises  of  both  the  black  and  white  varieties. 
The  latter  are  very  abundant  in  the  waters  of  this  region,  and 
about  this  part  of  the  coast.  From  the  river  Saguenay  to  the  west 
end  of  Anticosti,  they  abound  more  or  less  frequently  at  all  seasons 
in  open  water.  This  is  the  Beluga  borealis  of  Lesson,  and  accord- 
ing to  Professor  Tenney,  ''A  specimen  of  this  animal  about  ten 
feet  long,  and  weighing  about  seven  hundred  pounds,  was  kept  in 
a  tank  in  the  Aquarial  Gardens,  Boston,  for  about  two  years. 
He  was  quite  docile,  learned  to  recognize  his  keeper,  and  would 
come  and  take  food  from  his  hand.  He  was  trained  to  the 
harness,  and  drew  a  young  lady  in  a  car  prepared  for  the  purpose." 
Occasionally  a  large  whale  would  be  seen  in  the  distance  spouting 


GRAMPUS,  ETC.— A  SUNDOG.  53 

high  columns  of  water,  but  none  came  very  near  to  us.  The 
captain  informed  me  that  at  times  they  did  appear  close  by  the 
side  of  the  vessel.  The  Grampus  is  also  occasional  here,  but  they 
are  much  more  abundant  farther  north.  At  one  time  during  the 
day  several  horse  mackerel  appeared  by  the  side  of  the  vessel, 
and  amused  us  for  a  time  as  they  kept  up  with  her,  swimming 
abreast  and  in  perfect  line  with  each  other.  They  would  dash 
through  the  spray,  appearing  and  disappearing  with  surprising 
readiness  ;  but  we  soon  lost  sight  of  them.  The  captain  told  us 
that  about  this  part  of  the  coast  he  was  almost  always  followed  by 
a  party  of  four  or  five  of  these  huge  fish.  As  the  strength  of  the 
wind  was  spent,  I  stood  looking  over  the  prow  of  the  ship,  watch- 
ing the  most  perfect  rainbows  formed  in  the  water  by  the  shining 
of  the  sun  through  the  spray  as  it  dashed  from  the  sides  of  the  ves- 
sel. Occasionally  I  thought  that  I  could  detect  a  second  bow  be- 
hind the  other  (ahead  of  it  I  mean),  but  it  might  have  been  the 
optical  delusion  caused  by  my  straining  my  eyes  by  too  much  and 
too  close  looking.  Of  course  nearly  everybody  on  board  is  to-day 
suffering  from  the  usual  nial  de  mer  accompanying  sea  voyages, 
as  too  many  know  at  their  own  cost. 

Thursday  the  23rd.  The  fine  breeze  of  yesterday  kept  up  all 
night,  and  brought  us  a  long  distance  on  our  way ;  in  the  morning 
the  breeze  calmed  down,  however,  and  left  us  a  cool  and  balmy 
though  cloudy  day,  with  only  occasional  glimpses  of  sunshine.  The 
captain  foretells  stormy  weather  from  the  appearance  of  a  sundog 
this  morning.  These  solar  appearances  are  supposed  to  be  caused 
by  the  presence  in  the  air  of  minute  six-sided  ice  crystals,  which 
refract  and  decompose  the  rays  of  light  passing  through  them ; 
they  are  seen  usually  at  a  visual  angle  of  22°,  and  are  quite  fre- 
quent in  the  polar  regions  of  cold  countries  generally. 

Friday  the  24th.  This  was  another  such  a  day  as  yesterday. 
The  morning  finds  us  not  far  from  the  island  of  Great  Mecattina, 
with  a  fair  breeze  pressing  us  onward.  In  the  morning  one  of  the 
species  called  pigeon  hawk  (yHypotriorchis  columbarius)  flew  about 
the  vessel  several  times,  and  at  last  lit  upon  some  portion  of  the 


64  PIGEON  HAWKS  — THE  RUSTY  BLACKBIRD. 


mast.     These  birds  are  quite  common  here  all  along  the  coast, 
and  it  is  not  at  all   rare  to  see  them  accompany  a  vessel,  now 
lighting  upon  it  and  now  again  making  a  short  flight  seaward,  for  a 
distance  of  many  miles.     I  also  saw  a  small  owl,  but  could  not  tell 
the  species — unless  perchance  it  was  our  common  Scops  asio — 
that  acted  in  much  the  same  way,  alighting  frequently  upon  the 
masthead.     About  noon  a  rusty  blackbird  {Scolecophagus  ferru- 
gineus)  alighted  upon  the  deck  of  the  vessel  and  remained  with  us 
some  time.     As  we  were  very  near  the  land,  and  somewhat  of  a 
fog  existed  at  the  time,  he  might  have  mistaken  us  for  some  portion 
of  land.     I  found  afterwards  that  this  bird  had  a  summer  breed- 
ing range  all  along  the  coast  here  as  far  as  L'Anse  au  Loup,  at  which 
latter  place  a  resident,  Mr.  Fred.  Davis,  informed  me  that  the  bird 
occasionally  built  its  nest  in  his  woodpile  —  the  people  there  are 
obliged  to  cut  enough  wood  at  one  time  to  last  the  year  around ; 
thus  there  is  always  more  or  less  of  a  pile  about  in  the  summer 
season — and  his   boys  called   it   quite  common   there.     This,  I 
believe,  is  the  only  species  of  blackbird  that  regularly  remains  so 
far  north  to  breed ;  the  cow  and  red  winged  blackbird,  and  the 
purple  grakle,  though  extending  quite  far  north  and  east,  being 
hardly  more  than  of  occasional  occurrence.     The  rusty  blackbird, 
as  you  remember,  is  generally  regarded  as  an  unsocial  and  retiring 
bird  ;  here  it  is  the  reverse,  and  its  nest  is  not  unlike  that  of  a  small 
robin  with  many  sticks  outside,  and  its  eggs  about  3  or  4,  bluish 
white  with  spots  and  dashes  of  light  brown.     It  feeds  upon  seeds 
of  various  plants  and  a  few  insects.      Strange  to  say,  they  are  here 
frequently  kept  as  cage  birds,  and  their  cunning,  and  power  of 
mimicry  of  song,  something  rather  remarkable.     I  have  seen  it  in 
confinement,  and  found  it  to  keep  admirably.      At   evening  we 
anchored  in  calm  water  at  the  mouth  of  the  large  rigoulette,  not 
far  from  St.  Augustine,   and  had  the  satisfaction  of  passing  the 
night,  at  least,  in  calm  water :  there  was  really  some  satisfaction 
in  sleeping  off  the  confusion  of  the  four  previous  days  of  rough 
weather. 

The  coast  all  about  these  parts  presents  the  same  rocky  aspect. 


NATURE  OF  THE  COAST.  65 

I  have  visited  nearly  all  the  important  harbors  from  Natashquan  to 
Blanc  Sablon,  and  find  the  same  general  appearance  in  the  surface 
geology,  and  a  similar  rocky  contour  in  every  place  thus  visited. 
Bold  masses  of  rock  rear  themselves  as  hills  from  five  to  seven 
hundred  feet  in  height ;  except  the  three  Bradore  hills,  which 
are  here  called  "the  mountains,"  and  attain  the  height,  as  marked 
upon  the  charts,  of  1264  feet  for  the  highest,  and  11 35  for  the 
second,  while  the  third  is  of  nearly  the  same  size  as  the  second. 
It  is  rare  that  the  coast  line  itself  presents,  anywhere  near  the  water, 
a  spot  large  enough  upon  which  to  build  a  house  and  have  the 
foundations  rest  upon  an  upraised  seabeach,  or  any  kind  of  earth. 
Some  of  the  houses  are  built  on  part  rock  and  part  earthy  patches, 
while  the  majority  are  built  directly  upon  a  rocky  layer  which  some- 
times appears  within  a  few  inches  of  the  surface. 

The  rocks  here  present  the  same  general  character  of  coarse 
granite  or  gneiss,  that  is  formed  chiefly  of  feldspar  in  great  excess. 
Occasionally,  especially  the  farther  down  the  coast  one  goes,  the 
mica  is  in  excess,  and  several  localities  give  an  abundance  of  good 
sheet  mica  that  might  almost  be  worked  with  profit  were  it  not  for 
the  distance  that  it  must  be  transported  over  land,  or  rather  over 
rocks.  The  rock  is  for  the  most  part  syenitic  gneiss ;  that  is, 
hornblende  takes  the  place  of  mica,  and  the  feldspar,  which  is  usually 
orthoclase,  as  far  as  I  was  able  to  ascertain,  is  of  both  white  and 
flesh-colored  varieties.  The  hornblende  is  of  a  greenish-black  color, 
and  often  present  in  large  crystals,  but  so  embedded  in  the  mass  of 
surrounding  rock,  as,  with  the  fact  of  its  extreme  brittleness,  to 
render  it  impossible  or  nearly  so  to  extract  them.  I  did  not  visit 
the  Bradore  hills,  but  they  are  said  to  be  of  gneiss  of  this  same 
general  character.  Quartz  does  not  seem  to  be  abundant  here. 
I  have  several  times  had  an  elderly  resident  of  the  coast  speak  to 
me  of  a  "vein  of  marble"  running  through  the  rock  not  far  from 
his  house,  but  upon  examination  had  it  proven,  as  I  had  previously 
anticipated  it  to  be,  a  vein  of  quite  poor  quartz.  It  is  not  my 
purpose,  however,  to  give  here   a  general  dissertation  upon  the 


56  ST.  AUGUSTINE  AND  VICINITY. 

geology  of  this  region, — that  must  be  left  to  those  better  qualified 
to  do  it ;  a  few  general  remarks  may  be  of  value  however. 

The  waters  about  St.  Augustine,  as  all  along  the  coast  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  are  crowded  with  large  and  small  islands, 
that  have  been  severed  from  the  coast  at  some  remote  period,  and 
which  now  present  narrow,  winding,  and  more  or  less  dangerous 
passages  for  vessels  or  small  boats,  according  to  their  depth.  At 
this  point,  and  for  a  distance  of  some  twenty  or  thirty  miles  up  and 
down  the  coast,  is  a  most  interesting  and  remarkable  feature.  It 
seems  as  if  the  whole  coast  region  had  received  a  lateral  and  per- 
pendicular pressure,  that  pressed  these  islands  into  the  sea ;  as  if  a 
large  number  of  small  card  blocks,  placed  side  by  side,  had  been 
pressed  from  three  sides  so  that  they  burst  out  upon  the  fourth. 
From  the  mouth  of  the  Kecarpwei  river  to  that  of  Shecatica  bay, 
the  strict  coast  line  presents  the  following  peculiar  shape  ;  at  point 

I,  we  find  the  Kecarpwei  river  entering  the  sea 
by  a  narrow  channel  between  the  islands  ;  at  2  the 
St.  Augustine  river  enters  in  a  similar  way  ;  and  at 
3  the  Carkewetchepe  also.  At  4  is  the  headland 
promontory  of  Shecatica  bay  upon  its  northeastern 
side  ;  while  from  there  to  Bate  des  Roches  (5)  the  coast  is  more  or 
less  indented  by  small  bays,  and  deep  fiords  extending  in  a  north- 
northeast  by  south-southwest  direction.  The  almost  square  patch  of 
water  between  the  St.  Augustine  and  Carkewetchepe  rivers,  is  filled 
up  with  the  small  Main  island,  Large  island,  and  Sandy,  Cum- 
berland, and  Dukes  islands  in  the  northeast  extremity,  while 
River  island,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Augustine  river,  fills  the 
eastern  end  of  the  figure.  Along  the  line  of  coast  from  i  to  2,  is 
first  Inner,  and  directly  southeast,  with  only  a  small  passage  between, 
Outer  island ;  while  southwest  of  Inner  is  Long  Island.  All  these 
islands  are  separated  from  the  land  and  from  each  other  by  narrow 
strips  of  water  as  I  have  stated,  and  these  passages  receive  the 
name  of  rigouletfes  (from  the  French  word  rigole,  a  trench  or  gut- 
ter), and  are  thus  called  by  the  inhabitants.     The  passage  between 


BIRDS.  57 

Inner  island  and  the  land  is  very  small,  and  has  received  the  name 
of  "little  rigoulette  ;"  between  Inner  and  Long  islands  is  a  passage 
leading  into  the  sea ;  between  Long  island  and  the  mainland  is  a 
passage  which  really  is  a  continuation  of  "little  rigoulette,"  but  there 
is  no  passage  for  vessels  at  this  extremity  which  lies  opposite  the 
mouth  of  Kekarpwei  river.  I  mention  this  as  you  will  see  that 
upon  our  return  trip  we  passed  the  opening  to  the  sea  and  ascended 
this  narrowest  part  of  the  rigoulette  nearly  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  in  an  early  foggy  morning,  before  finding  that  we  must  retrace 
our  steps ;  but  that,  with  a  description  of  the  scenery,  which  was 
something  very  lovely,  will  occur  in  its  place.  Between  Inner  and 
Outer  islands,  occurs  "big  rigoulette,"  the  general  passage  for 
coasting  vessels  into  the  channel  seaward,  just  ahead  of  the  open- 
ing of  St.  Augustine  river  and  River  island.  As  we  did  not  remain 
long  at  St.  Augustine,  and  did  not  go  ashore  at  this  time,  there 
was  no  opportunity  to  examine  the  region  carefully. 

There  were  plenty  of  birds  flying  about  in  all  directions  over  our 
heads,  and  others  swimming  in  the  waters  around  us.  The  her- 
ring gull  {La?'us  argentatus),  and  great  black-backed  gull  (Z. 
mariniis),  were  very  abundant  but  very  wild,  especially  the  latter. 
The  eider  ducks  {^Somateria  mollissima)  were  frequently  to  be 
seen  with  their  broods  of  young  just  ready  to  fly  sporting  in  the 
water  all  around  us,  or  flying  from  point  to  point  of  land  at  our  left, 
while  numerous  "pigeons,"  or  black  guillemots  {Uria  grylle), 
swam  about  us  on  both  sides.  We  amused  ourselves  by  firing 
at  these  latter  birds,  and  watching  them  dive  almost  at  the  flash  of 
the  gun.  We  soon  sailed  by  them  all  into  the  open  water  again, 
where,  looking  over  the  side  or  prow  of  the  vessel,  the  many  shaped 
and  colored  acalephs  or  jelly  fishes  lay  swimming  along  with  the  lazy 
flappings  of  their  gelatinous-Hke  disks.  Although  not  an  expert  in 
the  subject,  I  am  sure  I  detected  several  species  here  apparently 
common  that  I  have  not  seen  in  our  home  waters,  though  I  may 
mistake.  What  surprised  me  the  most  was  finding  these  delicate 
and  apparently  easily  destroyed  animals  in  these  cold  northern 
waters  at  this  time  of  the  year  in  such  abundance. 


58  OLD  FORT  ISLAND. 


We  anchored  here  for  the  night,  and  in  the  morning  continued 
our  journey,  the  destination  of  which  was  about  fifty  miles  far- 
ther down  the  coast. 

Saturday  the  25th.  About  11  o'clock,  a.  m.,  we  reached  Bonne 
Esperance  safe.  Mr.  William  Whiteley,  who  resides  here,  and  is 
the  magistrate  of  the  coast,  met  us  and  invited  us  to  his  house. 
Here  we  met  a  charming  English- American  family,  and  were  cor- 
dially entertained  by  them  ;  but  as  both  the  people,  their  work,  and 
this  place  will  be  more  fully  described  farther  on,  I  will  not  now 
linger  upon  its  attractions.  In  the  afternoon  we  took  a  boat  to  Old 
Fort  island,  a  small  island,  though  the  largest  for  some  miles  around, 
and  were  soon  being  piloted  through  the  narrow  passages  so  dan- 
gerous to  those  not  fully  acquainted  with  their  shoals  and  concealed 
rocks,  to  the  latter  named  place.  I  will  leave  the  general  features 
of  this  place,  also,  to  be  described  later  in  a  little  sketch  entitled : 
A  Labrador  Home.  Here  I  have  given  an  outline  of  the  general 
style  of  living  in  this  region,  as  well  as  a  description,  also,  of  Old 
Fort  island,  the  place  where  we  found  ourselves  at  about  five  o'clock 
the  same  evening,  and  where  I  remained  for  some  time  studying 
the  general  appearance  of  the  region,  and  making  frequent  excur- 
sions in  various  directions  to  examine  the  peculiarities  of  the  local- 
ity in  which  I  found  myself  placed.  It  was,  I  assure  you,  quite 
pleasant  to  be  on  shore  once  more. 

Monday  the  27th.  This  morning  a  party  of  us  went  out  in  a 
boat  for  a  short  sail,  taking  our  guns  with  us.  The  water  was  full 
of  birds,  especially  ducks  and  auks,  as  well  as  the  other  birds  that 
frequent  this  region  in  such  abundance,  and  of  which  I  shall  speak 
in  other  places  ;  while  my  attention  was  called  particularly  to  the 
''sea  duck,"  of  which  we  shot  several  from  flocks  that  chanced  to 
fly  near  enough  to  us.  As  the  sea  or  eider  duck  is  one  of  the  pe- 
culiar residents  of  this  region,  a  few  remarks  upon  it,  collected 
from  the  experience  of  my  year's  observation  may  not  be  uninter- 
esting, so  I  give  them.  The  sea  duck,  as  it  is  here  called,  and 
by  the  word  here  I  mean  all  along  the  coast  from  Mingan — if  not 
from  Quebec  —  to  Red  bay,  perhaps  beyond  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle, 


THE  EIDER  DUCK.  69 


is  the  eider  duck  of  the  naturaUst,  and  the  Somateria  mollissima  of 
the  scientist.  Tlie  first  specimens  we  obtained  were  shot  Sept.  2  7, 
the  above  date,  and  were  young  birds.  We  saw  a  great  many  small 
companies  of  birds  scattered  here  and  there  about  the  harbor,  but 
they  were  generally,  at  this  season,  composed  of  old  birds  and  their 
broods  of  young ;  the  latter  were  now  large  enough  to  kill  and  are 
excellent  eating.  In  hunting  these  birds,  especially  the  old  ones, 
one  is  obliged  to  proceed  with  the  greatest  caution.  A  good 
sighted  hunter  will  detect  a  flock  or  a  single  duck,  in  rough  water 
even,  at  a  great  distance  —  this  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  liv- 
ing in  a  region  where  one  must  depend  so  much  upon  eyesight, 
that  sense  is  remarkably  quickened  —  at  the  same  time  the  duck 
will  also  perceive  the  hunter  almost  as  quickly  as  it  is  seen.  When 
the  duck  sees  the  suspicious  object  it  reaches  its  neck  to  its  full  ex- 
tent and  takes  a  long,  though  quick  sight ;  if  the  hunter  sees  this 
movement  he  knows  that  he  is  detected  ;  if  he  at  once  remains  per- 
fectly still,  the  duck  is  often  outwitted,  since  not  seeing  the  ob- 
ject move,  it  supposes  that  it  is  some  stone  or  piece  of  wood  before 
unnoticed,  and  continues  its  feeding ;  should  the  hunter  move  visi- 
bly ever  so  little,  the  bird  takes  fright  and  is  off  at  once.  In  a  clear 
day  a  person  peering  cautiously  over  a  slight  eminence  can  see, 
especially  if  the  water  be  tranquil,  a  flock  of  ducks  often  a  couple 
of  miles  seaward.  A  patient  hunter  will  then  conceal  himself  near 
some  chosen  feeding  ground,  imitate  the  call  of  the  male  bird,  and 
decoy  a  flock  or  single  bird  quite  close  and  within  shooting  distance. 
The  call  is  whistled,  and  sounds  like  the  single,  double,  or  triple 
call  of  a  snipe,  repeated  several  times  in  a  sort  of  guttural  tone,  if 
such  an  expression  may  be  applied  to  a  whistle ;  after  every  few 
times  there  is  an  extra  low  and  another  similar  high  note  which 
rounds  off  the  whistle  with  that  peculiar  effect  so  often  practised  by 
small  boys  in  trying  to  roll  the  tongue,  and  which  enters  into  the 
call  of  so  many  of  the  water  birds.  At  low  and  falling  tide  the 
ducks  assemble  in  large  colonies  on  their  feeding  grounds  where 
the  water  is  shallow  and  the  kelp  and  muscles  thick,  —  generally 
at  evening  and  in  the  early  morning ;  at  such  times  they  will  sit 
upon  the  rocks  and  remain  there  until  urged  or  driven  off;  their 


60  DUCKS  SWIMMING  UNDER  WATER. 

sight  and  hearing  seem  then  to  be  marvellous,  and  the  slightest 
noise  sends  them  off  into  the  water.  I  have  seen  them  in  midday 
thus  sunning  and  resting  themselves,  but  they  are  so  watchful  that 
it  is  rare  that  you  can  get  near  enough  for  a  shot  at  them.  They 
dive  at  the  flash  of  the  gun.  I  have  fired  at  them  at  a  rather 
long  gun-shot  off,  and  seen  them  dive  while  the  shot  struck  the 
place  they  occupied  a  second  previous. 

An  experienced  hunter  when  on  shore  will  get  as  near  to  a 
flock  or  single  bird  as  possible  without  alarming  it,  wait  patiently 
for  it  to  dive,  as  it  so  often  does  while  feeding  in  apparent  safety, 
when  he  will  run  ahead  to  some  shelter  nearer  the  object  of  his  de- 
sire, repeating  the  operation  until  he  regards  himself  sufficiently 
near,  and  then,  remaining  standing  with  his  gun  at  his  shoulder, 
fire  at  the  unconscious  bird  when  it  rises  from  some  long  dive,  gen- 
erally killing  it.  In  the  fall,  when  a  brood  of  young  ducks  is  sur- 
prised it  is  quite  easy  to  secure  a  large  number,  though  the  old 
birds  generally  escape  by  flight  and  swimming  under  the  water ; 
they  accomplish  this  latter  act  with  ease,  and  often  pass  long  dis- 
tances before  appearing  to  the  surface  for  fresh  air.  In  the  open 
water,  a  flock  of  old  birds  when  approached  will  separate  and  swim 
or  fly  in  different  directions,  while  the  young  cluster,  and  thus  ex- 
pose themselves  directly  to  the  hunter's  fire.  The  best  way  to  pur- 
sue both  young  and  old  birds  is  to  drive  them  into  some  angular 
indenture  of  the  surrounding  islands  or  land,  and  then  wait  for  them 
to  appear  on  the  surface  of  the  water  after  their  long  dive.  The 
boat  stationed  too  far  away  for  them  to  swim  clear  of  it,  the  hunter 
has  every  chance  for  bagging  his  game.  I  have  noticed  that  wounded 
birds  do  not  swim  far,  about  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet,  below  the 
water ;  both  bill  and  head  are  extended  forward  in  a  straight  line. 
The  old  birds  will  often  swim  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  if  not 
a  full  half,  in  extent,  beneath  the  water  without  appearing  for  air. 
As  far  as  my  experience  goes  the  birds  are  rather  tame  in  the  win- 
ter season,  or  at  least  in  the  extreme  late  fall ;  they  huddle  together 
in  close  bunches  of  from  fifty  to  several  hundred  birds,  and  I  am 
informed  that  an  old  hunter  once  fired  into  a  cluster  thus  gathered 
and  bagged  fifty-nine  birds  with  a  single  discharge  of  his  gun,  a 


BREEDING  OF  THE  EIDER  DUCK.  61 

common  large  bore  fowling  piece.  Occasionally  old  9  birds  in  full 
heat  will  be  shot  that  have  the  back  and  wing  coverts  edged  with 
deep  rusty  brown,  and  often  very  deeply  so  ;  other  birds,  smaller, 
(young)  at  the  same  season  of  the  year  will  have  the  feathers,  par- 
ticularly of  the  breast,  edged  with  deep  gray ;  young  birds  gener- 
ally have  the  top  of  the  head  darker  and  the  neck  much  lighter. 
In  some  old  birds  the  whole  plumage  will  be  unvaried  and  of  a  dark 
brown  color.  Large  flocks  are  usually  made  up  of  a  number  of 
small  family  broods  of  from  five  to  seven  birds  that  unite  from 
some  common  cause,  and  then  pursue  some  common  flight  until 
scattered  from  other  causes.  The  usual  feeding  grounds  of  the  ei- 
der duck  are  shallow  waters  over  a  bed  of  seaweed  or  mud,  at 
some  rods  from  land  on  its  south,  southwest,  or  west  side.  They 
feed  principally  on  mollusks,  barnacles,  and  a  variety  of  marine  an- 
imal life,  with  an  occasional  piece  of  seaweed  such  as  may  be  ob- 
tained in  the  shallow  basins  of  accumulated  debris,  and  on  the 
land-wash.  In  summer  the  ducks  breed  in  large  numbers  on  the 
islands  about  the  harbors,  and  though  their  numbers  are  fast  de- 
creasing there  are  still  colonies  of  them,  making  their  nests  of  down 
from  their  own  breasts,  beneath  some  overhanging  grassy  clump, 
and  laying  from  three  to  five  olive  colored  eggs.  The  people  here 
rob  the  nests  several  successive  times  during  a  season,  w^hile  the 
female  continues  to  lay  eggs  in  the  hopes  of  securing  enough  to 
hatch  her  brood.  When  setting,  the  eider  duck  remains  upon  her 
nest  until  the  very  last  moment,  and  then  forced,  takes  a  rapid  flight 
a  short  distance  off,  and  does  not  appear  again — at  least  I  have 
not  noticed  it — until  the  intruder  has  gone  away.  To  what  extent 
the  males  assist  the  females  in  the  matter  of  incubation  I  did  not  suc- 
ceed in  finding  out  positively,  that  they  do  so  to  a  limited  extent  I 
cannot  doubt.  They  remain  in  the  region  until  the  last  waters  of 
the  bays  freeze  over,  and  are  then  seen  no  more  until  spring  returns 
and  thaws  the  ice,  when  they  appear  in  company  with  the  king  ei- 
der (S.  spectabilis)^  and  the  Pacific  eider  (6".  V-nigi-a)  —  which 
also  are  found  in  immense  flocks,  but  distinct  from,  that  is  not  min- 
gling with,  the  others. 

We  here  shot  several  other  species  of  birds ;  the  titlark  {Anfhus 


62  SHOOTING  BIRDS. 


ludoviciamis) ,  sandpipers  of  the  species  known  as  the  white- 
rumped  {Tringa  bonapartei),  as  also  the  sanderHng  {Calidris 
arenaria),  all  of  which  were  more  or  less  abundant.  As  the  af- 
ternoon proved  rainy  we  remained  in  the  house  and  amused  our- 
selves as  best  we  could  until  bed-time. 

Tuesday  the  28th.  To-day  we  were  out  shooting  almost  all  day ; 
we  obtained  several  of  the  species  of  plover  known  by  the  many 
different  names  of  blackbellied,  whistling  field,  beetlehead,  ox-eye, 
bull-head,  and  here  by  the  queer  title  of  Quebec  curlew :  it  is  in 
fact  the  Sqtiatarola  helvetica  of  the  scientist.  I  found  this  bird  in 
small  flocks  more  or  less  abundant  all  along  the  coast  at  most  of  the 
different  places  visited  from  Quebec  to  Blanc  Sablon.  It  was  gen- 
erally rather  wild,  and,  wading  deep  into  the  water,  fed  on  the  small 
sea  animals  that  it  could  there  capture.  Its  flight  was  low  and 
rather  short.  I  went  out  before  breakfast  this  morning  to  make  an 
attempt  on  the  smafl  beach  birds  that  abounded  in  a  cove  of  the 
sea  not  far  from  the  house,  and  was  successful  far  beyond  my  most 
sanguine  expectations.  The  great  dish  prepared  from  these  small 
but  delicately  flavored  little  birds,  is  to  fry  them  in  their  own  fat. 
Out  of  several  good  sized  flocks  I  managed  to  procure,  I  think, 
eighty-seven  birds,  which,  carried  home,  were  soon  sending  up 
their  savory  odor  from  the  frying-pan.  Rain  in  the  morning  obliged 
us  to  stay  within  doors.  Here  it  rains  about  one-half  the  time ; 
it  is  foggy  and  uncomfortable  weather  for  nearly  the  other  half,  leav- 
ing but  a  short  season  of  sunshine,  and  there  is  seldom  anything 
like  hot  weather.  If  the  thermometer  goes  up  to  70°  it  is  hoi,  while 
the  usual  temperature  is  from  45°  to  60°  in  summer,  and  as  low  as 
often  to  freeze  the  mercury  in  winter.  Mercury  freezes  at  about 
40°  Fahrenheit. 

As  it  came  off  pleasant  in  the  afternoon  we  had  abundant  op- 
portunity for  walking  about  the  island,  enjoying  the  prospect  as 
well  as  seeing  the  sights.  In  a  little  corner  of  the  yard  our  host 
had  started  a  small  garden,  but  as  its  care  depended  upon  his 
own  personal  labor  at  the  height  of  the  fishing  season,  when  every 
spare  moment  was  occupied  in  the  business  of  the  hour,  or  one 
was  indulging  in  rest,  it  had  fallen  rather  out  of  use.      The  plants 


VEGETABLES  —  HAY.  63 

grown  were  of  the  varieties  often  found  in  similarly  situated  little 
corner  gardens,  and  consisted  of  turnips,  cabbages,  and  potatoes. 
The  latter,  of  the  species  known  as  "  Early  Rose,"  were  very  small ; 
while  the  turnips  had  turned  out  here  as  they  do  so  often  elsewhere 
along  the  coast,  rather  small  but  very  good.  Of  the  cabbages,  the 
best  that  can  be  said  of  them  is  that  they  flavored  an  occasional 
soup.  Onions  are  rarely  raised  here,  I  saw  only  a  few.  The  soil 
is  generally  too  sandy,  being  usually  an  elevated  sea  beach,  to  grow 
much  upon,  and  the  vegetables  suffer  in  consequence.  The  great 
reason  why  farming  is  not  made  of  more  account  here  is  the  fact 
that  so  few  people  have  their  houses  where  there  is  abundance  of 
soil  proper  for  such  work,  and  also  the  fact  that  they  can  purchase 
quite  fresh  articles  in  the  fall  from  the  Quebec  traders,  at  almost  as 
low  prices  as  if  they  procured  them  in  Quebec  itself. 

Many  of  the  people  along  the  coast  keep  cattle,  and  the  family 
with  whom  we  stayed  possessed  two  heads  besides  numerous  goats* 
The  cow  gave  fine  milk,  and  a  good  generous  amount  of  it,  as  did  also 
the  goat ;  the  cream  was  thick  and  sweet,  and  the  fresh  butter 
made  twice  or  three  times  a  week  was  really  most  excellent.  The 
cattle  are  fed  upon  a  rather  coarse,  though  sweet  grass,  which  grows 
in  abundance  on  the  level  flats  of  the  islands  about.  In  the  fall  it 
presents  an  appearance  quite  like  that  of  a  field  of  stunted  grain, 
since  it  is  of  a  brown  color  and  quite  high,  with  light  tassels  hang- 
ing drooping  downward  and  stirred  with  every  breath  of  wind.  Sev- 
eral species  are  very  common  and  combined  from  excellent  hay  : 
with  Poa  pratensis,  we  find  both  Hierochloa  borealis^  and  Elynius 
mollis,  though  the  first  mentioned  one  is  without  all  doubt  the  most 
excellent  grass  or  hay  here  for  the  cattle.  The  majority  of  the 
low  grass  grows  in  thick  matted  clumps,  this  is  undoubtedly  because 
it  is  not  cut  sufficiently  often  to  produce  a  large  and  thinner  variety ; 
it  is  much  like  our  "rowen,"  however,  and  seems  to  answer  nicely  for 
the  cows.  In  the  summer  there  is  plenty  of  first  class  feed,  and  good 
pasturage  anywhere.  The  cattle  are  let  out  to  graze  at  will ;  when 
evening  comes  they  are  sought  after  among  the  dells  and  vales  of  the 
neighboring  region  and  driven  home.     It  is  often  no  slight  job  to 


64  RAISED  BEACHES  — LABRADOR  DOGS. 

find  them  when  they  have  strayed  for  several  miles  over  hillocks, 
across  plains  and  open  stretches  of  meadows  that  lead  to  a  success- 
ion of  elevations  and  depressions,  when  perchance  they  have 
rounded  on  their  tracks  and  are  quietly  grazing  not  far  from  the 
house  in  some  entirely  opposite  direction  from  that  in  which  they 
started  out.  Strange  to  say  the  grass  comes  up  here  quite  early  in 
the  spring,  and  is  grown  some  length  before  even  the  snow  has  be- 
come melted,  so  that  there  is  good  grazing  even  in  early  spring. 

A  curious  fact  remains  to  be  spoken  of :  in  digging  in  the  gar- 
den I  was  informed  that  at  the  distance  of  about  three  feet  under 
ground  the  sand  contained  abundance  of  shells  similar  to  those  now 
growing  alive  on  the  beach  a  few  rods  away,  and  which  belong,  I  be- 
lieve, to  the  species  Mytilus  edidis;  a  little  further  front,  along  the 
same  sand  ridge,  nearer  the  shore, —  or  land-wash  as  the  expression 
is  here,  —  these  same  shells  appear  on  the  surface,  or  at  least  so  very 
near  the  surface,  that  comparing  the  several  Hues  of  demarcation 
there  would  seem  to  be  a  fair  amount  of  evidence  that  either  there 
had  been  a  gradual  subsidence  of  the  waters  about  this  part  of  the 
coast,  or  that  the  land  had  gradually  risen,  allowing  the  sea  to  heap 
up  a  succession  of  beaches  over  which  the  sand  had  been  blown 
from  above  until  they  had  been  covered,  as  they  are  at  present,  and 
overgrown  with  vegetation. 

It  seems  not  unlikely  that  one  or  the  other  of  these  actions  has 
taken  place.  In  several  different  places  along  the  island,  and  in  sev- 
eral of  the  islands,  there  appears  to  be  this  same  peculiar  sand  struc- 
ture overlying  what  were  apparently  once  old  beaches  of  the  sea. 

A  few  words  only  here,  about  the  dogs  of  Labrador.  Upon  our 
first  stepping  on  shore  we  were  met  by  a  troop  of  about  fifteen  dogs. 
These  dogs  are  of  mongrel  breed  between  the  Esquimaux,  the  New- 
foundland, and  the  various  species  imported  here  from  other  regions. 
They  are  used  to  draw  the  sledges  in  the  winter,  and  are  as  valuable 
to  the  inhabitants  as  horses  are  to  us,  yet  a  worse  set  of  snarling, 
barking,  and  generally  fierce  and  also  unhospitable  animals,  it  would 
be  hard  to  find.  They  feed  on  blubber  and  any  food  that  they  can 
obtain  in  the  winter,  which  has  been  previously  banished  from  the 


BLACK-TAILED    GODWIT.  65 

odds  and  ends  of  what  can  be  made  no  use  of  in  the  house ; 
while  in  summer  they  are  never  fed,  but  allowed  to  roam  at  will  and 
find  what  they  can  along  shore  and  around  the  island ;  they  fight 
incessantly,  while,  unlike  our  dogs,  should  one  get  undermost,  the 
rest  will  turn  upon  hmi  and  worry  him  to  death.  The  people  are 
thus  frequently  obliged  to  arise  even  in  the  middle  of  the  night  to 
save  the  lives  of  their  animals,  or  their  numbers  would  rapidly 
decrease.     They  are  by  far  too  valuable  animals  to  lose  so  easily. 

Wednesday  the  29th.  Another  rainy  day  has  prevented  our  doing 
much  outside  of  the  house,  and  we  must  be  contented  to  remain 
within  doors.  I  have  been  struck  with  the  very  unusually  large 
amount  of  bread  that  is  used  all  along  the  coast.  It  is  in  reality 
"the  staff  of  life,"  in  these  parts  at  least.  It  is  raised  with  a  yeast 
made  from  the  spruce.  The  fine  tender  twigs  of  the  young  plant 
are  taken,  and  being  boiled  in  water  made  into  a  regular  spruce 
beer.  The  beer  will  keep  fresh  about  a  week  in  summer  time,  and 
nearly  all  winter.  When  fresh  it  is  an  excellent  drink  and  much 
used  here  in  place  of  water,  which,  poor  at  best,  is  usually  taken 
from  ponds,  and  rarely  from  springs  or  running  water ;  these  ponds 
are  the  result  of  the  melting  of  large  bodies  of  snow  that  drain  into 
the  low  mud  flats,  often  with  rocky  bottoms,  which  abound  every- 
where, high  and  low :  a  fair  evidence  that  successive  elevations 
were  at  one  time  much  nearer  the  sea-level  than  they  are  at  pres- 
ent. When  a  moderate  amount  of  this  beer  is  mixed  with  a  cup 
of  molasses  it  forms  a  yeast-like  substance,  or  raising  mixture,  which 
fully  equals  our  ordinary  raising  compounds.  The  beer  itself  has 
a  peculiarly  bitter  taste,  from  lack  of  any  article  in  the  boiling  to 
counteract  the  natural  taste  of  the  spruce  ;  it  makes  a  very  palata- 
ble drink,  however. 

Thursday  the  30th.  To-day  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  specimen 
of  the  Limosa  hudsonica,  the  hudsonian  or  black-tailed  godwit, 
also  called  the  ring-tailed  marhn.  It  is  a  rare  bird,  even  in  these 
regions.  It  was  the  only  one  I  obtained  on  the  coast.  It  was  at  the 
time  flying  rather  high  up  in  the  air,  and  with  the  irregular  flight  of 
the  spotted  sandpiper.  Its  note,  uttered  while  in  the  air,  sounded 
5 


66  SEARCHING  FOR  DRIFT-WOOD. 

more  like  the  squeak  of  a  mouse  than  anything  else  I  can  name. 
From  its  rarity  I  give  the  dimensions  as  I  took  them.  Length  from 
end  of  bill  to  tail  i6  inches  ;  end  of  bill  to  toes  18.50  ;  extent  28  ; 
wing  8.75  ;  tail  3.25  ;  bill  3.25  ;  unfeathered  tibia  1.13  ;  tarsus 
2.50  ;  hind  toe  and  claw  .50  ;  middle  toe  and  claw  1.65.  It  was  a 
^  and  had  the  gizzard  full  of  gravel  and  nearly  digested  matter. 
The  people  tell  me  that  it  is  occasionally  seen  in  fall,  but  that  it  is 
rare.  Audubon  speaks  of  it  as  "rare  along  the  Atlantic  district 
in  spring  and  autumn.  Breeds  in  the  barren  grounds  of  the  Arctic 
seas  in  great  numbers."  It  seems  to  be  confined  to  the  more  mid- 
dle interior  parts  of  the  Arctic  regions,  and  the  majority  of  writers 
whose  works  I  have  seen  speak  of  it,  as  I  have  generally  found  it, 
as  rare  along  the  Eastern  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coast  generally. 

Friday,  Oct.  i .  To-day  has  been  occupied  m  procuring  firewood. 
A  number  of  the  men  who  live  upon  the  island  started  off  Av-ith 
their  boats  for  a  tour  along  the  shore  after  drift-wood.  The  wood 
collects  in  the  coves  ever}'where  about  the  islands  as  well  as  the 
bays  of  the  mainland,  and  is  eagerly  sought  after  by  the  people 
who,  in  many  cases,  are  obliged  to  go  a  considerable  distance  other- 
wise for  their  supply  ;  it  is  brought  in  boat-loads  to  the  shore  close 
by  the  house,  the  wet  material  spread  out  to  dry  in  the  sun,  while 
the  remainder  is  sawed  or  chopped  up  for  immediate  use.  In  this 
way  any  old  wreck  or  pieces  of  vessels  that  have  floated  ashore  are 
soon  spied  out  and  secured ;  limbs  and  branches  of  trees,  as  well 
as  boards  that  have  fallen  off  from  vessels  and  floated  ashore  are  all 
serviceable,  for  if  clogged  with  wet  they  will  generally  soon  dry 
when  exposed  to  the  sun  away  from  the  water.  Old  boats  are  also 
found  occasionally ;  all  this  apparent  old  rubbish  is  of  value,  and 
shows  that  very  little  is  lost  in  the  economy  practised  on  these 
shores. 

Saturday  the  2nd.  To-day  we  visited  Bonne  Esperance  and 
passed  the  day  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whiteley  in  a  very  pleasant 
manner.  As  the  locality  presents  some  very  interesting  features  of 
surroundings,  as  well  as  some  attractions  in  itself,  it  may  be  well  to 
give  a  general  description  of  the  place. 


BONNE  ESPERANCE.  67 


CHAPTER  V. 


Bonne  Esperance  —  Esquimaux  river  and  island  —  Caribou  island  —  Entering 
Bonne  Esperance  harbor  —  Vessels  in  the  harbor  —  Their  nationality  — 
Activity  of  place  —  Religious  character  of  people — Chapel  and  Mission 
house  —  Residence  of  Mr.  Whiteley,  magistrate  —  Nescopies  —  Store 
and  shop  provisions  —  Money  —  Trade  —  A  trading  story. 


Bonne  Esperance,  or  Good  Hope  as  it  would  be  called  in  Eng- 
lish from  a  simple  translation  of  the  words  from  the  French,  is  a 
small  island  lying  off  the  Labrador  coast  about  opposite  the  mouth 
of  Esquimaux  river,  and  a  little  to  the  right  of  it,  in  very  near  lat- 
itude 51°  24'  north,  and  longitude  57°  39'  west.  It  is  quite  a  small 
island,  and  lies  within  a  few  miles  only  of  the  mainland,  with  sev- 
eral other  islands  all  somewhat  smaller  than  itself  around  it, 
principally  between  it  and  the  shore.  About  three  miles  on  the 
northwest,  Esquimaux  island  nearly  fills  the  mouth  of  the  Esquimaux 
river,  and  is  the  largest  of  the  small  islands  on  this  part  of  the 
coast.  This  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  chief  seats  of  the  Indian 
and  Esquimaux,  as  well  also  as  of  the  French  and  Indian  wars. 
A  large  number  of  graves  were  supposed  formerly  to  exist  on  the 
island,  while  an  occasional  one  is  still  to  be  found  there,  though  it 
is  of  course  impossible  to  say  as  to  their  origin ;  both  Indians  and 
Esquimaux  were  undoubtedly  buried  in  large  numbers  on  this  very 
island,  if  we  can  believe  the  records. 

On  the  northeast  of  Bonne  Esperance  is  Caribou  island.  This 
is  another  large  island,  thus  making  Bonne  Esperance  the  third 
in  size  of  the  small  group  here  situated.  If  we  count  Old  Fort 
island,  which  also  is  larger,  we  find  Bonne  Esperance,  the  fourth 
and  next  largest  of  all  the  islands  within  a  radius  of  some  twelve 
miles  that  contain  perhaps  fifty  islands  large  and  small,  and  as 


68  HOW  TO  ENTER  BONNE  HARBOR. 

many  rocky  knobs  or  crests  rising  above  the  water,  arranged  in  a 
most  singular  manner  to  form  broken  and  winding  channels  which 
are  navigable  with  the  greatest  of  caution,  and  then  only  by  those 
who  have  gradually  become  accustomed  to  their  intricacies.  There 
are  two  ways  of  reaching  Bonne  Esperance  by  vessel :  one  is  to 
take  the  channel  inside  the  islands,  the  other  to  reach  the  harbor 
from  the  outside ;  the  latter  is  easy  while  the  former  is  quite 
difficult.  Very  small  islands  lie  about  the  harbors  on  this  part  of 
the  coast  in  such  profusion  as  well  as  confusion,  that  the  channels 
formed  present  a  most  intricate  network  of  passable  and  nonpassa- 
ble  openings.  Right  here,  about  Bonne  Esperance,  occur  many 
such  places.  Clustered  as  the  islands  and  shoals  are  one  can 
hardly  pass  them  in  safety  unless  well  acquainted  with  them. 
Many  of  these  passages,  apparently  safe  to  the  sight,  contain 
sunken  ledges  or  single  rocks  that  render  them  unsafe  for  large  ves- 
sels ;  while  many  places,  whose  narrowness  and  dark  looking  waters 
would  repel  one,  are  the  very  passages  chosen  from  their  depth, 
with  fair  wind,  through  which  to  glide.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  a 
wide  and  fair  opening  of  water  between  these  islets  is  an  almost  in- 
variable sign  of  shallow  water.  Vessels  can  enter  Bonne  harbor 
by  keeping  close  to  the  mainland  following  carefully  the  evident 
channel,  keeping  to  the  right  between  two  small  islands  and  fol- 
lowing the  narrow  passage  between  them,  and  bearing  directly  to 
the  left  again  running  straight  for  the  stage  houses  then  in  sight  ; 
but  the  safer  way  is  to  enter  from  outside,  as  it  is  called,  that  is, —  if 
sailing  in  sight  of  the  islands,  but  at  a  distance  out  to  sea, — continue 
until  the  white  beacon  of  Whale  island  comes  in  sight,  steer  for  this 
and  when  it  is  directly  northwest  (all  these  points  are  magnetic 
points,  which  here  differ  by  36°  45'  west  of  apparent  points ;  that 
is,  apparent  north  on  the  chart  is  36°  45'  east  of  true  north), 
sailing  in  a  north  or  north  by  west  direction,  until  the  fish  houses 
are  seen  between  the  two  small  islands  at  either  hand,  when  the  pilot 
can  steer  directly  for  them.  The  harbor  of  Bonne  Esperance  is 
a  neat  sort  of  natural  bay  situated  between  the  shores  of  the 
opposing  islands.     Either  shore  retreats  in  a  semicircle,  so  that  the 


THE  FISHING  FLEET.  69 

inclosure  forms  an  oblong  semicirde  of  water ;  the  outlet  to  this 
natural  bay  is  a  narrow  strait  in  which  the  water  is  only  nine  feet 
deep  at  high  tide.  Of  necessity,  only  small  crafts,  such  as  the  nu- 
merous fishing  vessels  here  abundant  from  Newfoundland,  United 
States,  and  other  localities,  can  pass  this  opening.  On  the  other 
side  is  a  similar  bay,  formed  by  the  retreating  sides  of  the  other 
part  of  each  island,  from  which  it  is  easy  to  gain  the  open  water 
again. 

In  this  harbor  it  is  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  a  hundred  ves- 
sels of  all  kinds  and  descriptions  at  anchor.  Of  these  the  majority 
are  from  different  harbors  in  Newfoundland,  while  of  the  others 
many  are  from  the  Magdalen  islands,  and  some  from  Nova  Scotia ; 

numerous  French  crafts  and  a  few  American  are  also  occasionally 
seen. 

It  is  a  pretty  sight,  I  assure  you,  to  see  this  out-of-the-world 
region  so  thoroughly  alive  and  stirring,  as  it  is  in  the  summer, 
with  all  these  small  vessels  from  different  parts  Of  the  world  congre- 
gated here,  often  by  hundreds,  filling  the  bay  from  head  to  entrance  ; 
while  others  remain  outside  flitting  about  from  place  to  place  as 
occasion  may  require,  all  engaged  in  the  same  pursuit  of  fishing. 
The  following  partial  list  of  the  localities  with  the  number  of  ves- 
sels sent  out  from  each  in  1878  will  give  you  a  ghmpse  of  the 
business  of  the  season.  Halifax,  8  ;  Quebec,  4  ;  Newburyport,  2  ; 
Britain  (Ang.) ,  2  ;  Gaspe,  i  ;  Boston,  i  ;  Nova  Scotia,  2 1  ;  New- 
foundland, 13  ;  total,  52.  These  are  but  a  small  part  of  the  num- 
ber that  were  actually  seen  in  Bonne  Esperance  harbor  during 
the  summer  of  1878  ;  but  these  were  registered  as  dealing  more 
or  less  directly  in  fish,  and  most  of  them  remaining  more  or  less 
of  the  season  in  or  near  that  locality.  Bonne  Esperance  and 
Salmon  Bay,  the  latter  being  an  establishment  owned  by  New- 
foundland parties,  and  situated  about  two  miles  away,  are  the 
largest  fisheries  this  side  of  Blanc  Sablon  on  the  northeast,  or  Nat- 
ashquan  on  the  west ;  the  former  locality  is  only  about  twenty  miles 
away  while  the  latter  is  some  three  hundred.  It  is  a  great  sight  for 
the  simple  inhabitants  dwelling  near  these  fisheries  when  the  vessels 


70  CHAPEL  AND  MISSION  HOUSE. 

come  in  the  spring  and  begin  their  work.  The  long  winter  is  past, 
the  bays  at  last  open,  and  the  vessels  soon  begin  to  arrive.  Most  of 
the  inhabitants  are  very  quick  of  observation.  Let  them  see  a 
vessel  once  and  know  her  name,  they  will,  unless  great  alterations 
have  been  made,  tell  her  again  under  almost  any  circumstances. 

As  the  vessels  anchor  one  by  one  in  Bonne  harbor,  the  people 
assemble  from  the  neighborhood  around  and  the  island  becomes  a 
scene  of  gayety  and  life.  Of  course  it  is  gayety  in  a  sort  of  prim- 
itive sense ;  but  then  the  people  think  much  of  it,  especially  as  it 
affords  them  so  much  enjoyment  the  coming  winter  in  rehearsing 
at  their  firesides  what  they  have  seen  and  heard. 

I  will  not  now  mention  the  religious  character  of  the  people,  or 
the  service  as  conducted  in  the  httle  chapel  on  the  top  of  the 
hill ;  but  will  only  say  that  it  is  a  most  pleasing  opportunity  to  visit 
one  of  these  native,  evening  church  services  ;  to  see  forty  or  fifty  of 
the  native  people  gathered  together,  and  with  them  the  transient 
strangers  from  France,  England,  the  United  States,  and  all  the 
places  from  which  vessels  sent  out  to  the  fisheries  have  come,  from 
the  various  crafts  in  the  harbor  ;  to  hear  all  join  in  song ;  and  lis- 
ten to  English,  French,  and  American  as  they  lead  in  their  hearty, 
heartfelt  prayer.  It  is  a  good  work  that  is  done  by  the  httle  mission 
there  established  and  God  bless  them  in  their  work. 

Below  the  chapel,  under  the  hill,  lies  the  ^'Mission  House,"  as 
it  is  called.  Here  reside  several  missionary  ladies  or  gentlemen, 
sometimes  both,  who  have  given  themselves  to  the  work  of  attending 
to  the  spiritual  wants  of  these  poor  people.  It  is  here  that  the  Rev. 
Samuel  R.  Butler,  of  Northampton,  Mass.,  and  before  him  several 
others,  spent  so  much  of  their  time  while  on  the  coast.  Here,  in 
summer,  the  children  attended  regular  day  school,  but  to  which, 
owing  to  the  distance  at  which  everybody  lives,  few  come ;  here 
also  they  come  to  Sunday  school,  which  is  usually  well  attended, 
since  the  people  are  free  to  go  and  come  as  they  choose  from 
their  business  on  that  day  and  they  do  so  in  preference  to  re- 
maining at  home.  Not  far  from  the  Mission  is  the  residence  of 
Mr.  W.  H.  Whiteley,  who,   as   I    have  said,  is  the  Magistrate  for 


MR.  WHITELEY'S  ESTABLISHMENT.  71 

Canada  for  this  part  of  the  coast.  Mr.  Whiteley's  house  is  really 
a  fine  one  for  this  section  of  the  country.  It  is  a  good  sized,  two- 
storied  affair,  much  longer  than  broad,  as  is  the  custom  with  arctic 
and  sub-arctic  houses,  and  very  warmly  built.  Its  white  paint  at- 
tracts one  from  the  outside,  while  a  cosey  fire  and  a  cup  of  hot  tea 
are  always  handy  within.  Mrs.  Whiteley  is  quite  ready  to  welcome 
a  "new  comer,"  and  the  hearty,  rosy  children  are  as  delighted  to 
find  a  stranger  to  take  notice  of  them  as  can  be  imagined.  The 
sitting  and  dining  room  are  combined ;  a  large,  square,  or  rather 
oblong,  stove  heats  the  room,  and  there  are  plenty  of  chairs,  stools, 
benches,  and  an  easy  lounge  ready  for  occupancy  at  any  time.  I 
shall  not  soon  forget  the  cosey  times  I  have  had  in  that  same  room 
with  the  assembled  family ;  and  the  games  and  plays  with  which 
long  winter  evenings  have  been  whiled  away.  The  many  pleasant 
faces  almost  recall  me  there  as  I  write,  and  the  hope  of  some 
day  meeting  them  again  is  present  with  me. 

Outside  of  the  house  the  contour  of  the  island  is  rather  peculiar ; 
though  if  not  strange  to  an  inhabitant  it  is  at  least  so  to  a  visitor. 
The  whole  island  is  one  mass  of  granite  rock  overlaid  here  and 
there  with  scanty  vegetation.  There  are  two  principal  crests  of 
about  sixty-five,  and  eighty  feet  in  height  above  the  sea-level ; 
their  rocky  summits  are  crowned,  as  is  usual  with  nearly  all  such 
elevations  about  the  coast,  with  a  pile  of  stones  several  feet  in  height 
which  serve  as  landmarks  :  they  are  called  Nescopies  :  the  sailors 
call  them  the  "American  Men." 

The  other  buildings  upon  the  island  are  a  small  store  and  shop ; 
here  are  kept  a  variety  of  articles  of  hardware,  groceries,  and  dry 
goods,  as  well  as  a  general  assortment  of  articles  of  clothing,  boots 
and  shoes,  hats,  caps,  and  oilskin  suits — the  latter  of  which  are 
so  much  used  among  the  men.  The  assortment  of  nicknacks 
of  one  kind  or  another  is  always  more  or  less  Hmited,  and  confined 
to  a  few  of  the  many  useful  articles  of  dress  and  use  rather  than  of 
the  kind  to  tempt  the  coppers  of  the  mamma  and  papa,  as  is  so  cus- 
tomary in  the  United  States  and  other  parts  of  the  world.  It  is 
rather  a  store    of  necessity  than  one  of  choice  and   amusement. 


72  MERCHANDISE, 


The  room  is  a  small  one,  and  the  various  articles  are  piled  in  heaps  in 
corners,  and  about  the  sides  and  middle  of  the  room,  for  want  of 
space.  This  is  the  regular  trading  port  for  the  region  around.  If 
any  article  of  commerce  is  wanted  it  is  obtained  here  if  anywhere 
on  the  coast :  a  barrel  of  flour  or  salt  pork ;  a  box  or  bag  of  bis- 
cuit as  they  are  called,  or  more  properly  hardtack  or  hard  crack- 
ers,— and  as  a  rule  they  merit  their  name  since  the  majority  of 
them  require  long  soaking  in  water  before  they  are  soft  enough  for 
use,  to  be  fried,  broiled,  or  eaten  at  all,  and  I  have  often  seen 
them  so  tough  that  the  repeated  blows  of  a  hatchet-back  would 
barely  suffice  to  break  them ;  meal,  of  which  varieties  that  com- 
monly called  oatmeal,  is  much  used,  while  Indian  meal  is  regarded 
by  the  majority  as  only  fit  to  give  the  dogs,  to  whom  it  is  fed  scalded, 
though  the  poorer  class  are  frequently  obliged  to  mix  it  with  their 
flour  if  not  use  it  altogether  pure ;  butter,  salted  down  in  tubs  or 
firkins,  and  lard,  both  of  an  inferior  quality ;  sugar  and  molasses, 
the  latter  of  which  is  the  chief  source  of  the  sweetenings  used  on 
the  coast.  A  strange  custom  prevailing  here  is  that  of  sw^eetening, 
with  molasses  the  tea  or  coffee,  though  very  little  of  the  latter  is 
ever  used  so  far  northeast,  tea  being  a  popular  and  more  healthy 
drink,  and  the  true,  native  Labradorians  invariably  take  the  mo- 
lasses pot,  even  where  the  sugar  is  equally  as  easy  of  access,  and 
use  its  contents  where  we  should  use  the  sugar.  Besides  provisions, 
nails,  hatchets,  axes,  and  tools  of  various  descriptions — usually  con- 
fined to  planes,  saws,  chisels,  and  screw-drivers  —  are  always  on 
hand ;  large  cross-cut  saws  can  be  purchased  of  the  traders,  as  can 
other  articles  wanted  if  known  and  ordered  beforehand.  A  few 
yards  of  any  of  the  cheap  patterns  of  dress  wear,  trimmings,  gloves, 
stockings,  underwear,  coarse  materials  for  overalls,  and  in  fact  a  little 
of  anything  that  long  experience  has  shown  to  be  in  constant  use, 
will  usually  be  found  somewhere  in  the  promiscuous  heap  of  ma- 
terials stored  in  this  room ;  while  it  would  consume  a  chapter  in 
itself  to  enumerate  the  variety  of  articles  here  accumulated.  It 
is  a  great  day  when  several  of  the  inhabitants  living  say  ten  or  fif- 
teen miles  up  or  down  the  coast  come  to  the  store  to  purchase 


MONEY.  73 


their  monthly  supply  of  necessities.  It  takes  a  long  while  for  them 
to  settle  upon  what  they  want,  and  they  pick  out  the  articles  they 
wish  with  the  eagerness  and  apparent  pleasure  of  a  small  child. 
Nearly  every  article  has  to  be  handed  over  a  number  of  times  before 
the  one  desired  can  be  settled  upon,  and  when  it  is  very  likely  it  will 
be  exchanged  for  something  more  pleasing  to  the  eye.  Finally,  the 
exchange  is  arranged  and  the  parties  start  for  home  with  their  pur- 
chases. The  general  medium  of  exchange  all  through  this  region  is 
trade.  Money  is  seldom  used,  and  its  value  still  less  seldom 
known.  Both  the  English  and  the  Canadian,  as  well  as  some  United 
States  money  find  their  way  into  the  Labrador  markets.  The  Prov- 
inces have  each  a  money  of  their  own,  and  nearly  every  piece  has  a 
discount  upon  its  real  value.  The  general  mode  of  reckoning  is  in 
English  pence,  shillings,  and  pounds.  A  pound  being  twenty  shil- 
lings or  four  dollars  (as  it  is  in  the  majority  if  not  all  the  Canadian 
provinces) ,  the  shilling  is  twenty  cents  or  twelve  pence  ;  the  Eng- 
lish sovereign  is  taken  for  four  dollars  and  eighty-four  or  eighty-six 
cents,  and  consists  of  twenty-four  shillings  twopence,  or  threepence 
half-penny  ;  it  is  only  in  the  Newfoundland  province,  northeast  of 
Blanc  Sablon,  or  Labrador  proper,  that  the  English  gold  brings  its 
full  value  of  twenty-five  shillings.  To  complicate  matters  still  more 
both  the  English  shilling  of  twenty-five  cents,  and  the  Canadian 
twenty  cent  piece  are  freely  used  and  equally  abundant.  New- 
foundland silver  is  used  as  are  all  the  other  provincial  pieces  for 
their  full  value.  American  silver  is  occasional,  and  usually  heavily 
discounted,  while  American  gold  is,  I  believe,  the  only  gold  taken 
for  full  face  value  and  without  discount.  In  American  money  the 
Canadian  fifty  cent  piece  is  worth  forty- eight  cents,  the  twenty-five 
cent  piece  twenty-four  cents,  the  twenty  cent  nineteen  cents,  the  ten 
cent  nine  cents,  and  the  five  cent  four  cents ;  on  the  other  hand  a 
half-pence  (pronounced  hapence)  is  generally  two-thirds  of  a  cent 
or  one  cent,  a  t^vo-pence  (pronounced  tuppence)  three  cents, 
a  three-pence  (thrippence)  five  cents,  a  (four-pence  (fopence) 
seven  cents,  six-pence  ten  cents,  nine-pence  fifteen  cents,  twelve- 


74  THE  MEDIUM  OF  EXCHANGE. 

pence  the  same  as  a  shilling  of  twenty  cents,  and  fifteen  and  eight- 
teen-pence  twenty-five  and  thirty  pence  :  thus  our  quarter  is  in  Lab- 
rador fifteen  pence  (not  counting  the  discount  which  is  usually 
five  cents),  our  twenty  cent  piece  nine-pence  (with  a  discount  also 
of  five  cents),  our  ten  cents  six-pence  (discount  of  only  one  cent)  ; 
our  five  cent  pieces  are  often  taken  for  their  full  value.  The  three 
cent  piece  is  not  used  or  recognized,  and  the  fifty  cent  piece  has  a 
discount  of  from  five  to  ten  cents  according  to  location.  The 
Newfoundland  Bank  note  of  one  pound,  or  four  dollars,  is  always 
looked  at  twice  before  it  is  taken,  sometimes  with  and  sometimes 
without  discount.  It  takes  six  large  coppers  to  be  worth  a  five 
cent  piece. 

In  trading,  it  is  customary  to  employ  the  usual  productions  of  the 
country  as  a  medium  of  exchange.  Although  it  would  be  as  im- 
possible to  make  out  a  table  of  exchange  as  a  full  table  of  money 
equivalents  for  the  coast,  a  few  of  the  more  important  may  be 
stated.  Codfish  at  thirteen  to  eighteen  shillings  a  quintal,  herring 
seven  six-pence  to  ten  shillings  a  barrel,  cod  oil  two  to  two  and  six- 
pence a  gallon ;  seal  skins  dressed  seven  and  six-pence  to  fifteen 
shillings  according  to  the  species  of  seal,  undressed  five  to  seven 
and  six-pence,  rarely  ten  shillings  apiece ;  seal  oil  two  shillings  a 
gallon.  Besides  this,  people  living  near  rivers  sell  wood  for  twen- 
ty-five cents  a  load  of  ten  long  sticks,  about  forty  feet  long  and 
eight  inches  through  at  the  butts.  Old  iron  picked  up  from  wrecks 
is  worth  half  a  cent  a  pound,  and  everything  useful  has  its  price. 
Nearly  all  the  trading  on  the  coast  is  done  on  the  credit  system, 
and  it  is  usually  expected  beforehand  that  half  the  people  would  not 
pay  their  bills  if  they  could,  and  many  of  them  never  intend  to, 
while  still  another  portion  are  dependent  entirely  upon  the  catch  of 
the  next  season,  having,  by  former  delinquencies,  overrun  their 
accounts,  so  that  they  are  obliged  to  get  credit  in  advance  of  the 
season  upon  that  season's  catch.  No  wonder  the  majority  are  poor, 
and  kept  so  not  by  the  power  of  the  richer  class,  but  rather  by 
their  own  indolence  in  not  profiting  when  an  opportunity  offers  to 


A  TRADING  STORY. 


75 


make  a  little  money.  Most  of  them  consider  it  best  to  let  well 
enough  alone,  and  having  earned  sufficient  to  support  them  through 
the  winter,  the  rest  looks  after  itself,  while  the  time  is  then  passed 
in  "chatting"  and  smoking. 

A  curious  story  is  told  which  shows  how  some  are  really 
incapable  of  keeping  a  perfectly  understood  account  of  their  own 
money.  A  certain  trader  offered  for  a  piece  of  valuable  fur  forty- 
live  dollars  in  American  money ;  the  native  thought  the  exchange 
over  for  some  time  and  finally  shook  his  head  and  said  that  he 
could  not  sell  for  less  than  ten  pounds  cash.  Now  ten  pounds  you 
remember  is  forty  dollars,  or  five  dollars  less  than  the  original  offer. 
The  wily  trader  in  turn  shook  his  head  as  if  in  hesitancy,  but  fi- 
nally said  that  he  would  accept  the  offer,  while  the  native  went  off 
chuckling,  if  I  may  use  the  word,  that  he  had  made  the  trader 
come  up  to  his  price. 


PtUYi 


76  RASPBERRIES  —  STORM  WEATHER. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Raspberries  —  Weather  —  Hudsonian  Chickadee  and  other  birds  —  Black-fly 
—  Topography  of  country  —  Old  Fort  bay,  physical  features  and  sur- 
roundings —  Superstitions  concerning  the  raven. 


Sunday,  Oct.  3.  To-day  some  of  the  people  in  the  house 
brought  in  a  few  raspberries  picked  near  the  house,  but  whether 
they  were  of  the  species  known  as  the  dwarf  raspberry  {^Rubus 
triflorus^ ,  or  the  wild  red  raspberry  (^R.  strigosus) ,  I  could  not  quite 
tell  as  I  did  not  analyze  them  ;  the  berries  were  quite  dry  and  unfit 
to  eat.  Neither  of  the  species  is  rare  along  the  coast  anywhere, 
and  it  might  have  been  either  or  both  of  these.  A  quiet  walk  about 
the  island,  which  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  diameter  and  four  in 
circumference,  occupied  us  a  good  portion  of  the  morning,  while 
in  the  afternoon  the  cool  breezes  found  us  enjoying  ourselves  out- 
side the  house  in  the  shade  on  the  lawn. 

Monday  the  4th.  After  a  stormy,  windy  night,  the  weather 
continued  rough  and  rainy  all  day.  Tlie  wind  increasing  raised 
great  billows  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  these  increasing  in 
height  and  fury  dashed  with  incredible  force  against  the  rocky 
heights  so  numerous  in  the  outer  waters  about  the  island.  Huge 
waves  would  hurl  themselves  against  the  rocky  exposures,  and 
flooding  them,  pour  down  the  opposite  sides  in  broad  sheets  of 
water ;  or  again  they  would  break  into  showers  of  spray  that  would 
spread  themselves  in  crowns,  wreaths,  and  haloes  of  magnificence 
that  would  rival  the  most  elegant  artificial  production,  and  put  to 
shame  the  most  wonderful  of  ancient  or  modern  fountain  work. 
Looking  from  the  right  from  our  door,  a  long  line  of  low  reefy 


POWERFUL  EYESIGHT.      \\    /y  ^  c-  77 

4^ 


fjfv — 

islands  stretched  across  our  view,  ending  in  a  rising  knoll  at  the  left ; 
over  this  I  saw  a  continued  display  of  hydraulic  pyrotechnics  that 
would  have  delighted  the  most  fastidious  with  its  magnificence  of 
display.  The  waves  dashing  upon  the  upright  side  of  the  cliff  sent 
spray  high  in  the  air  over  the  hilly  part  of  the  island,  while  long 
lines  of  billows  broke  into  foam  all  along  the  narrow  stretch  of 
beach.  Several  displays  of  lesser  importance  were  seen  in  other 
directions,  but  none  equalled  this  one.  All  through  the  day  the 
sight  continued,  and  only  closed  with  the  night. 

With  all  this  cold,  wet  rain,  the  thermometer  has  been  averaging 
about  50°,  varying  from  46°  in  the  morning  to  54°  in  the  even- 
ing. In  spite  of  the  weather  some  of  the  party  went  out  and 
shot  a  couple  of  ducks.  In  hunting  these  birds,  which  were  eiders, 
one  has  to  proceed  with  the  greatest  caution.  A  good  hunter  will 
detect  a  single  duck  or  a  flock  of  ducks,  even  in  rough  water, 
at  an  immense  distance.  I  have  often  been  surprised  at  being  told 
that  there  was  a  flock  in  a  certain  direction,  when  I  could  see 
nothing  at  all  in  that  direction.  Some  five  or  eight  minutes  after- 
wards I  would  think  that  I  had  discovered  a  flock  some  ways  yet 
in  the  distance,  and  upon  giving  notice  to  that  effect  would  receive 
the  reply,  ''why,  have  you  just  seen  them  ?  that's  the  flock  we're 
after,  the  same  I  pointed  out  to  you  ten  minutes  ago."  When 
people  live  so  much  by  their  eyesight,  it  is  not  hard  to  see  how 
that  sense  can  become  so  acutely  developed  as  it  is  in  so  many  of 
the  people  on  the  coast.  I  think  I  have  mentioned  before  that 
men  will  recognize  a  vessel  that  they  have  once  seen  years  after, 
and  at  an  immense  distance  away.  They  will  tell  a  boat,  and 
the  people  who  are  in  it,  before  one  unaccustomed  can  distin- 
guish that  there  are  any  people  at  all  in  it.  This  results,  I  think, 
partly  from  what  one  might  almost  call  "reasoning  from  analogy," 
though  no  doubt  eyesight  \\2i?,  a  great  deal  to  do  with  it. 

Wednesday  the  6th.  This  is  still  another  foggy  day,  and  the  sun 
made  us  but  a  short  visit  this  morning.  I  shot  a  couple  of  shel- 
drakes, shellbirds  as  they  call  them  :  we  had  them  for  dinner  and 
found  them  very  tender  and  dehcious.     They  were  young  birds, 


78  HUDSONIAN  CHICKADEE. 

and  of  the  smaller  of  the  two  species  of  Mei'gus,  of  which  the 
females  are  so  nearly  alike,  and  the  one  known  as  serrator,  the  red 
breasted  Merganser,  so  common  in  these  parts ;  I  found  here  the 
savanna  sparrow  {Passerailus  savanna)  abundant  and  breeding 
and  also  saw  numbers  of  that  familiar  little  hero  of  the  north,  the 
Hudsonian  chickadee  {Partis  hudsonicus) ,  so  very  abundant  here. 
As  this  is  a  peculiarly  characteristic  bird  of  this  region,  a  few  words 
may  be  said  of  it.  I  found  the  Hudsonian  titmouse  residing  all 
the  year  around  both  on  the  islands  and  on  the  mainland  where- 
ever  I  went  during  my  stay  on  the  coast,  and  their  cheerful  presence 
has  dee-dee-dee'ed  away  the  blues  more  than  once.  I  first  met 
them  at  Old  Fort  island  in  the  summer,  when  they  would  frequently 
come  and  perch  on  the  roof  of  the  house,  and  occasionally  fly  in 
at  the  door  and  pick  up  crumbs  from  the  floor.  They  were  very 
tame,  and  would  allow  you  even  to  catch  them  without  much 
opposition  on  their  part.  The  people  of  the  coast  are  very  fond 
of  them,  and  will  not  allow  a  stranger  to  hurt  one  of  them  if  they  can 
possibly  help  it.  While  flying  they  will  often  dart  about  from  place 
to  place,  or  if  it  be  in  the  air  in  one  direction  or  another,  with  a 
quick,  whirring  sort  of  flight  which  reminded  one  more  of  the 
operation  of  quickly  half  opening  one  of  our  closed  fans  and  imme- 
diately shutting  it  again.  They  fly  only  a  short  distance  except  when 
rather  high  in  the  air  when  their  smallness  soon  aids  them  in  escap- 
ing detection  as  they  fly ;  at  such  times  their  flight  is  swift.  When 
on  the  island  their  favorite  resting  place  was  the  roof  of  the  house, 
and  we  would  often  see  several  perched  near  each  other  on  the 
ridge-pole,  where  they  would  remain  a  long  time  or  until  frightened 
away.  Low,  stunted  fir  growths  about  the  island  almost  always 
contained  several  of  these  birds,  who  would  play  at  a  veritable  hide 
and  seek  among  the  dense  clumps  of  fir  and  spruce  everywhere 
abundant.  If  any  one  pretended  to  watch  them  they  would  hide, 
and  not  even  chirping  remain  for  nearly  half  an  hour  quite  still, 
or  if  stirring  at  all  doing  so  so  cautiously  as  not  to  attract  the  least 
attention,  while  often  I  would  walk  about  quietly  trying  my  best  to 
get  a  sight  at  them  and  yet  unable  to  do  so.     At  other  times  the 


WHITE-CROWNED  SPARROW.  79 

case  would  be  exactly  reversed,  and  I  have  found  them  in  the 
bushes  on  the  mainland  near  by,  and  spent  much  time  in  sitting 
down  and  quietly  waiting  while  the  litde  fellows,  at  first  frightened 
by  my  presence,  afterwards  gained  confidence  and  crowded  around 
the  bushes  close  to  my  feet,  my  hands,  and  my  face ;  they 
did  not,  as  a  certain  author  once  remarked  of  the  black-capped 
chickadee,  alight  on  the  tip  of  my  boots  and  peer  at  me,  but  they 
did  peer  at  me  from  bushes  within  a  few  feet  of  my  face,  and  certainly 
within  reach  of  my  hand  had  I  grasped  for  them, —  though  I 
should  undoubtedly  have  missed  them  had  I  attempted  it.  After 
remaining  about  for  some  time  they  would  fly  away,  only  to  light 
on  some  bush  near,  or  return  again,  to  examine  more  fully  the 
mysterious  object  which  had  attracted  their  attention ;  then  they 
would  chatter  away  to  themselves  as  if  comparing  notes.  If  finally 
I  raised  my  hand  or  my  head  they  would  dart  off  to  some  covert 
and  disappear  as  if  by  magic.  This  chickadee  is  often  the  only  bird 
that  may  be  seen  in  the  woody  portion  of  the  "lake  regions,"  where 
in  the  heat  of  the  day  it  is  active  and  full  of  song,  even  in  the 
summer.  The  darker  the  woods,  or  the  more  tangled  the  under- 
brush, the  better  these  birds  seem  to  like  it.  It  is  here  the  counter- 
part of  our  native  black-capped  titmouse  {Fajus  atricapillus). 
That  latter  bird  did  not  appear  here  during  the  year  to  my  knowl- 
edge, although  it  is  given  by  Reeks,  in  his  Hst  of  Newfoundland 
birds,  as  common  and  breeding.  The  Hudsonian  titmouse  breeds 
all  up  and  down  the  coast,  but  it  usually  prefers  the  interior  and 
tangled  undergrowth  district,  which  is  quite  difficult  of  access. 
The  ordinary  note  of  this  titmouse  adds  a  very  pretty  and  pleasing 
lisp  to  the  dee,  dee,  dee  notes  which  it  so  frequently  utters,  and 
which  our  bird  usually  delivers  so  plainly  and  clearly. 

I  also  saw  several  white  crowned  sparrows  (yZonotrichia  albicollis) , 
and  though  they  were  not  remarkably  tame  I  afterwards  found  them 
in  large  numbers  breeding  in  the  low  evergreen  shrubbery  about 
the  island.  They  have  a  pretty  song,  and  are  otherwise  attractive 
companions,  but  I  will  say  more  of  them  farther  on. 

Thursday  the  yth.     Most  of  the  day  was  spent  in  rambling  about 


80  SANDPIPERS  —  SAVANA  SPARROW. 

with  my  gun,  and  several  species  of  birds  rewarded  my  search  which 
will  be  spoken  of  in  their  place,  but  my  attention  was  especially 
drawn  to  the  small  flocks  of  the  ruddy  plover  or  sanderling  (  Calidris 
arenaria) ,  which  were  occasionally  seen  alone  or  with  large  flocks 
of  other  shore  birds.  I  saw  numbers  of  them  during  my  stay  on 
the  island,  but  seldom  many  at  a  time.  They  are  very  wild  and 
hard  to  approach,  and  keep  quite  close  together  in  small  flocks  of 
from  ten  to  thirty ;  their  flight  is  wilder  and  their  call  different  from 
that  of  the  other  birds  with  which  tliey  associated.  I  found  them 
very  plump  and  fat,  and  they  make  very  nice  eating. 

Friday  the  8th.  I  saw  to-day  several  very  interesting  species  of 
birds,  and  while  we  are  on  the  subject  I  will  give  you  a  brief 
account  of  the  savanna  sparrow  {Passeiruliis  savanna),  and  the 
w^hite  rumped  sandpiper  (  Ti'inga  bonapartei) .  The  savanna  spar- 
row is  perhaps  the  most  abundant  of  all  the  small  land  birds  that 
inhabit  these  regions.  It  is  a  tame  and  familiar  little  fellow,  and 
feeds  without  fear  about  the  doorsteps,  and  in  the  dooryard, 
building  its  nest,  laying  its  eggs,  and  rearing  its  young  often  in 
grassy  clumps  not  two  rods  from  the  door.  They  are  common  all 
over  the  islands  and  on  the  mainland,  and  their  song  is  a  well 
known  attraction  to  a  native  of  the  place.  I  shot  a  good  many  and 
found  them  to  present  an  unusually  decided  shade  of  plumage, 
with  the  dark  and  white  colors  plainly  marked.  There  was  very 
little  yellow  about  the  head  and  eye,  and  of  some  twenty  specimens 
none  at  all  on  the  wing  shoulders.  I  shot,  one  day,  four  of  these 
birds,  none  of  which  had  a  particle  of  yellow  upon  them  anywhere 
that  I  could  distinguish ;  a  small  tuft  of  white  feathers  at  the  base 
of  the  primary  coverts  of  the  shoulder  gave  the  appearance  of  a 
white  edging  in  the  place  of  the  usual  yellow.  The  birds  were  all 
remarkably  full  in  coloration,  and  decided  in  plumage ;  the  white 
very  clear ;  the  dark  inverted  arrowpoints  quite  distinct,  as  were  also 
the  grayish  and  buff"  edgings  everywhere.  One  specimen  alone 
had  the  buffy  suffusion  covering  the  breast.  I  cannot  say  that  the 
rule  holds  good  constantly,  but  in  some  thirty  specimens  the  ^ 
had  the  yellow  on  the  wing  shoulder,  while  the  9  ^-nd  young  of 


WHITE-RUMPED  SANDPIPER.  81 

the  year  of  either  sex  had  white  in  that  place.      It  is  everywhere 
abundant,  and  breeds  on  the  ground. 

Of  the  white-rumped  sandpiper  I  saw  several  immense  flocks  on 
the  flats  near  the  house ;  they  were  quite  tame,  and  I  shot  a  great 
many  of  them.  Some  had  the  chestnut  edgings  of  the  wings  very 
broad  and  deep,  while  several  of  them  had  either  the  head  or  neck, 
and  one  had  both,  quite  ashy ;  the  greater  part  of  them  had  very 
little  chestnut,  that  color  being  replaced  by  ashy ;  the  chestnut 
edgings  seemed  to  be  on  birds  that  were  passing  from  the  last 
stage  of  young  of  the  year  to  adult  birds,  but  I  may  mistake ; 
both  varieties  were  in  the  same  flock — flocks  were  usually  of  from 
fifteen  to  one  or  two  hundred  in  number.  They  would  alight  in 
the  mud  flats,  and  feed,  running  about  in  the  black,  slimy,  clay-like 
mud  or  muck,  running  in  the  water  nearly  to  the  tibia  and  keeping 
quite  close  together  meanwhile ;  they  feed  in  the  evening  and  at 
dusk  chiefly  among  the  kelp  along  shore,  and  I  rarely  saw  even  a 
single  bird  at  high  tide.  They  were  very  tame,  and  if  I  crouched 
and  approached  them  on  nearly  their  own  level,  I  could  get  very 
close  indeed.  If  discovered,  single  birds,  as  often  small  flocks, 
would  remain  perfectly  quiet  for  some  time.  It  was  very  difficult  to 
see  them  as  long  as  they  remained  still,  since  their  color  corres- 
ponded so  closely  to  that  of  the  mud  or  kelp  where  they  happened 
to  be.  I  have  often  at  dusk  had  them  fly  from  within  a  yard  of  my 
feet  when  after'careful  examination  I  had  not  supposed  there  were 
any  near  me.  I  saw  these  birds  associate  only  with  Calidris 
arenaria  ;  the  birds  did  not  mix,  but  each  kept  in  its  own  separate 
flock.  An  occasional  Ereunetes  pusillus  was  seen,  but  they  were 
rare.  Sometimes  a  single  bird  would  be  seen  flying  high  and  swiftly 
in  the  air,  but  generally  their  flight  was  low  and  irregular,  their 
note  uttered  as  two  or  three  faint,  shrill  whistles,  the  same  as  when 
running  about  in  search  of  food ;  they  take  wing  on  the  approach 
of  danger.  Large  flocks  are  made  up  of  the  union  of  a  large 
number  of  single  families.  Most  of  the  specimens  obtained  at 
this  season  of  the  year  had  a  worn  and  faded  look,  and  were  not 
nearly  as  plump  or  as  well  plumaged  as  specimens  that  I  shot  later, 
6 


82  BLACK-FLY. 


with  bright  chestnut  edgings  to  neariy  all  the  upper  feathers.  One 
of  these  specimens  had  the  head  and  neck  nearly  clear  ash,  of  a 
very  minute  pattern.  I  often  found  specimens  where  the  tail  feathers 
were  half  black,  and  the  other  half  white.  I  suspect  that  Tringa 
datrdii,  that  rare  sandpiper,  bears  a  stronger  relation  to  certain 
forms  perhaps  of  adult  worn  breeding  plumage  of  T.  bonapartei 
than  is  generally  credited. 

We  were  much  gratified,  this  evening,  by  a  fine  double  rainbow, 
of  most  beautiful  color ;  both  bows  were  well  defined  against  a  clear 
bank  of  cloud  in  the  east. 

Sunday  the  i  oth.  I  saw  what  was  either  a  large  white  hawk  or  owl 
perched  on  a  stone  near  the  top  of  a  small  hill  by  the  house,  but  he 
soon  flew  away.  We  passed  a  delightful  day  out  of  doors.  The 
weather  was  fine,  and  the  lateness  of  the  season  protected  us  against 
the  fury  of  that  most  pestiferous  creature  of  these  northern  regions, 
the  much  dreaded  black- fly.  This  insect,  the  Simidium  7nolestu7n 
of  the  entomologist,  is  one  of  those  ra^-a  avis  that  the  naturalist 
lights  upon  occasionally  much  to  his  own  personal  inconvenience. 
It  is  an  abundant  native  of  all  these  northern  regions,  more  especially 
inland,  during  the  summer  months ;  and  of  its  development  little 
is  known.  They  fill  the  air  during  the  months  of  July,  August, 
and  September,  especially  inland,  making  the  country  almost  unin- 
habitable. They  swarm  on  a  still  day  in  millions,  and  nothing  but 
a  breeze  of  wind  will  rid  the  air  of  their  presence.  They  light  on 
any  part  of  the  face  that  is  incautiously  exposed,  and  bite  it  most 
terribly  until  the  blood  runs.  Their  favorite  places  of  attack  are  be- 
hind the  ear  and  on  the  neck.  This  fly  attacks  the  children  even 
more  savagely  than  it  does  the  grown  people.  I  have  seen  a  child's 
face  all  bitten  and  swollen,  while  the  poor  thing  spent  most  of 
the  time  crying  and  rubbing  the  inflamed  portions,  which  only  served 
to  make  the  case  worse.  With  adults  the  bite  soon  disappears. 
The  account  given  of  this  insect  by  Harris,  in  his  "Insects  In- 
jurious to  Vegetation"  is  not  accurate,  for  this  portion  of  the  coun- 
try at  least.  I  have  found  it  more  or  less  common  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  summer.     Prof.  Packard  says  of  it,  "Its 


REMEDIES.  83 


antennae  are  eleven- jointed  ;  the  palpi  are  four-jointed,  with  long,  fine 
tenninal  joints,  and  the  ocelli  are  wanting,  while  the  posterior  tibia 
and  first  joint  of  the  hind  tarsi  are  dilated.  The  body  is  short  and 
thick.  The  labrum  is  free,  sharp  as  a  dagger ;  and  the  proboscis  is 
well  developed  and  draws  blood  profusely."  Harris  says,  "The 
wings  are  transparent ;  and  their  legs  are  short,  and  have  a  broad 
whitish  ring  around  them."  I  have  verified  these  statements,  but 
not  the  following,  again  quoting  from  Prof.  Packard,  who  says  it 
"  lives  during  the  larval  stage  in  the  water.  The  larva  of  a  Labra- 
dor species  which  we  found  is  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  long,  and 
with  the  appearance  here  indicated.^  The  pupa  is  also  aquatic, 
having  long  respiratory  filaments  attached  to  each  side  of  the  front 
of  the  thorax.  According  to  Westwood  '  the  posterior  part  of  its 
body  is  enclosed  in  a  semi-oval  membranous  cocoon,  which  is  at  first 
formed  by  the  larva,  the  anterior  part  of  which  is  eaten  away  before 
changing  to  the  pupa,  so  as  to  be  open  in  front.  The  imago  is  pro- 
duced beneath  the  surface  of  the  water,  its  fine  silky  covering  serving 
to  repel  the  action  of  the  water.'  "  Although  they  are  undoubtedly 
blown  by  the  wind  to  great  distances,  the  fact  of  their  being  reared  in 
fresh  water  —  by  fresh  I  mean  not  salt  sea  water,  yet  I  imagine  they 
prefer  stagnant  pools  —  accounts,  perhaps,  for  such  large  numbers 
being  found  on  the  mainland,  and  so  few  on  the  islands  outside, 
where  the  continued  breezes  from  the  sea  carry  them  away  as  fast  as 
they  appear.  If  it  were  not  for  these  tormenting  Httle  insects,  explo- 
ration into  the  interior  would  be  a  comparatively  easy  thing.  As  it  is, 
veils  of  mosquito  netting  do  no  good,  for  the  fly  is  scarcely  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  long  and  would  pass  through  the  meshes  at  once  ; 
handkerchiefs  are  used  with  little  better  success,  for  they  will  creep 
into  the  smallest  openings  and  beneath  the  loose  folds.  A  mixture 
is  now  made  and  sold,  consisting  largely  of  dilute  carbolic  acid 
and  sweet  oil,  which,  when  applied  to  the  face  and  hands,  keeps 
these  insects  at  a  distance,  for  a  time  at  least.  The  best  and 
only  sure  remedy  is  to  keep  wholly  away  from  them. 

1  See  fig.  69,  Packard's  "  Our  Common  Insects,"  p.  73. 


84  HORNED  LARK. 


Monday  the  nth.  This  mornmg  I  shot  several  specimens  of  the 
horned  lark  {Ej-emopliila  alpestris),  and  noted  the  extent  of  the 
pinkish  color  on  the  wing  coverts,  rump,  and  neck  usual  in  spring 
specimens  in  the  high  eastern  regions.  My  long  stay  upon  the  coast 
made  me  quite  familiar  with  this  beautiful  songster,  and  characteris- 
tic bird  of  the  region,  which  is  abundant  all  along  the  north  shores 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  from  Quebec  northward.  At  Green  Island  in 
the  river  St.  Lawrence,  I  found  the  lark  quite  common ;  at  that 
time  it  was  rather  tame,  and  could  be  seen  on  the  low  flats  of  the 
island  hopping  about  and  feeding  in  close  company  with  the  sand- 
pipers ;  they  were  all  single  birds  and  not  flocks.  I  saw  them  all 
the  fall  at  Old  Fort  island,  both  alone  and  in  large  flocks,  and  al- 
ways more  or  less  wild.  I  would  often  see  them  flying  very  high  in 
the  air,  and  uttering  their  peculiar  querulous  whistling  notes  ;  some- 
times flying  quite  low  and  somewhat  irregularly,  but  uttering  their 
notes  at  all  times  while  on  the  wing.  Though  common  everywhere, 
they  seemed  to  lead  a  sort  of  wild,  solitary  life  that  comported 
w^ell  with  the  wild,  solitary  region  in  which  they  dwelt ;  they  pre- 
ferred the  plains,  fields,  and  rocky  knolls  away  from  houses  where 
they  would  hop  about  in  twos  or  threes,  or  small  flocks,  picking  up 
their  food ;  occasionally  they  would  perch  on  the  tops  of  knolls  as 
if  to  reconnoitre,  then  retire  and  go  to  feeding  again  as  if  satisfied 
that  no  enemy  was  near ;  they  are  very  quick  and  active  in  their 
movements,  and  always  wild  rather  than  tame.  I  saw  them  often 
on  the  shore,  and  feeding  on  the  kelp  in  company  with  the  white 
rumped  sandpiper,  but  never  mingling  with  them  as  far  as  I  could 
see.  As  their  brown  color  corresponds  so  well  with  the  color  of 
the  ground,  it  was  often  hard  to  detect  them  until  a  few  shrill  whis- 
tles and  a  hurried  flight  announced  their  flushing  a  short  distance 
ahead.  Several  that  I  shot  were  remarkable  for  the  amount  of  pink 
upon  them.  At  times  large  flocks  fly  over  the  island  high  up  in  the 
air,  while  one  of  these  flocks  once  alighted  upon  the  island :  their 
extreme  wildness  was  something  remarkable.  One  can  hardly  say 
enough  of  this  most  charming  little  fellow  and  beautiful  songster. 
It  breeds  here  abundantly,  and  the  only  time  I  saw  it  tame  was  at, 


RUBY-CROWNED  WREN.  85 

and  immediately  following,  the  breeding  season.  The  nest  is 
placed  on  the  ground,  and  the  eggs,  usually  four  in  number,  white 
peppered  with  ashy  in  a  close  pattern.  It  enlivens  the  long  days 
with  a  fresh,  and  what  we  would  call  really  remarkable  "clean  cut" 
song  that,  heard  at  early  morning  or  in  the  evening,  would  induce 
one  to  beheve  the  bird  almost  inspired. 

Often  on  a  clear,  crisp  morning  I  have  seen  the  lark  ascend 
by  a  series  of  spirals  to  an  immense  height :  then,  remaining  on  al- 
most stationary  wing,  carol  forth  such  a  thrilHng  warble  that  it 
seemed  more  like  the  chant  of  a  spirit  than  the  song  of  a  bird. 

In  the  afternoon  I  shot  perhaps  the  most  cunning  bird  known 
about  these  regions  where  it  is  probably  never  common,  the  ruby 
crowned  wren  (yRegulus  calendulus) .  It  was  flitting  about  in  a  small 
clump  of  bushes  when  I  first  saw  it  and  it  me.  I  was  then  obliged  to 
wait  around  for  over  half  an  hour  before  I  could  again  catch  sight  of 
and  shoot  it.  It  will  cunningly  crawl  or  flit  from  place  to  place,  and 
it  is  a  mere  question  of  who  will  continue  this  game  of  hide-and-seek 
the  longest,  as  to  whether  the  bird  escapes  or  is  finally  obtained. 

One  cannot  but  enjoy  these  rambles  about  a  "new  region ;"  at 
least  a  region  about  which  so  little  is  known  as  this.  There  is  a 
charm  of  novelty  of  situation,  and  to  one  busy  hunting  the  deHght- 
ful  natural  objects  with  which  he  is  surrounded,  the  charm  is  height- 
ened. I  was  often  reminded,  especially  on  the  water,  of  the  enthu- 
siasm and  joy  with  which  Audubon  must  have  viewed  these  abodes 
of  the  water-fowl  when  entering  this  new  field  of  ornithology  for 
the  first  time.  How  a  botanist  would  have  revelled  in  the  new 
plants  that  would  greet  his  eye  !  and  there  remain  many  yet  that 
have  not  been  identified  ;  while  I  often  think  of  the  field  for  some 
enthusiastic  collector  of  lichens,  fungi,  and  mosses.  The  insect 
fauna  of  the  region  likewise  needs  studying  up,  and  an  expedition 
into  the  interior,  hke  one  through  Newfoundland,  would  develop 
most  interesting  results. 

Tuesday  the  12  th.  We  took  a  trip  inland  this  afternoon,  and  I 
could  not  help  admiring  the  beautiful  bay  which  bears  the  name  of 
the  island  at  its  mouth,  and  which  receives  that  name  from  being 


86  OLD  FORT  BAY. 


the  supposed  seat  of  the  old  French  and  Indian  wars  traditional 
to  this  locality.  Old  Fort  bay  is  really  a  most  beautiful  piece  of 
nature's  fancy  work.  Just  outside  its  mouth  a  large  expanse  of 
water  is  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  islands,  between  which  narrow 
channels,  in  many  cases  too  small  and  shallow  for  the  passage  of 
vessels,  connect  with  the  sea.  Old  Fort  island,  the  largest  here, 
except  Esquimaux  island,  as  it  is  the  largest  on  the  coast  for  miles 
around,  is  in  a  line  with  the  mouth  of  the  bay.  The  open  water  I 
have  mentioned  is  relieved  by  a  single  rock  prominent  at  high  tide 
even ;  all  about  is  deep  and  safe  water  in  which  vessels  may  anchor. 

As  you  enter  the  bay,  the  hilly  character,  at  least  of  this  part  of 
the  coast,  attracts  your  attention  at  once.  The  hills  between  three 
and  five  hundred  feet  high  at  the  left  send  their  wooded  or  precip- 
itous slopes  down  to  the  sea,  while  the  highland  extends  far  back 
in  series  of  crests.  At  the  extreme  end  of  this  left  hand  promon- 
tory, and  midway  between  the  front  face  of  the  hill,  stands  the 
dark  mouth  of  a  sort  of  cave  or  natural  hollow  among  the  rocks, 
within  which  tradition  stores  treasures  inestimable,  guarded  by 
apparitions  most  hideous  and  terrible ;  below  it  a  grassy  slope 
extends  slanting  towards  the  sea ;  above  it  on  the  right,  the  crest 
of  one  of  the  hills  forms  a  good  outlook  to  the  whole  surrounding 
region. 

It  is  here  that  many  affirm  was  the  last  standing  place  of  a  fort  or 
battery  which  the  settlers  inside  the  bay  (and  the  ruins  of  whose 
houses  at  a  late  date,  though  nothing  now  remains,  were  plainly 
seen,)  were  credited  as  having  erected  for  the  better  defence  of 
their  abodes.  The  theory  that  the  battery  would  be  raised  in  such 
a  place  is  very  probable,  and  it  would  be  quite  likely  that  a  battery 
would  be  placed  outside  the  harbor  rather  than  within  it.  I  men- 
tion this  as  there  are  some  persons  who  believe  the  fort  to  have 
been  within  the  bay  on  the  top  of  a  long  glacial  ridge,  which  if  it 
were  not  known  to  be  of  nature's  own  formation,  would  strike  a 
stranger,  especially  one  not  examining  the  height  personally,  as 
being  the  most  likely  place  for  such  a  fort. 

Inside,  on  the  right  hand,  the  elevations  are  low,  seldom  over 


TOPOGRAPHY  OF  COUNTRY.  87 

one  hundred  feet  in  height.  The  country  here  extends  back,  Hke 
that  of  the  other  side  in  a  series  of  elevations.  The  basin  of  the 
bay  is  like  that  of  a  fiord  valley,  and  extends  directly  inward  for  a 
short  distance,  then  bends  in  an  almost  easterly  direction.  From 
east  to  south  the  land  is  low,  while  from  north  to  west  and  south 
the  hills  are  often  six  hundred  feet  high,  and  a  more  or  less  level 
piece  of  country  extends  back  in  a  west  direction  for  a  consider- 
able distance.  Towards  the  north  the  country  is  broken,  as  it  is 
all  along,  though  not  to  so  great  an  extent  as  in  this  direction,  into 
ponds  and  even  in  one  instance  a  large  lake.  Labrador  is  known  to 
be  a  region  of  lakes  in  its  interior.  Perhaps  it  is  more  so  than  many 
imagine.  In  some  cases  large  lakes  cover  quite  an  area  of  coun- 
try. They  appear  in  such  cases  to  be  the  resultant  drainage  of  an 
innumerable  number  of  ponds,  large  and  small.  Thus  these  ponds 
are  ranged  in  areas  of  equal  height,  the  highest  ones  being  the 
smallest,  while  next  will  come  an  extent  of  country  that  contains 
several  larger  ones,  and  so  on,  each  draining  into  the  larger  below 
and  all  finally  into  one  lake.  The  general  idea  is  that  of  a  huge 
natural  amphitheatre  wherein  the  seats  are  tablelands  extending 
back  for  several  miles,  so  that  the  top  layer  or  seat  consists  of  several 
isolated  and  high  peaks  whose  connecting  medium  is  a  marshy  bog 
with  small  puddles  of  rain  and  occasionally  springs  of  water ;  about 
fifty  feet  lower  an  area  of  country  extends  inward,  towards  the  cen- 
tral pit  of  the  amphitheatre,  which  contains  several  medium  sized 
ponds  with  a  drainage  from  the  pogls  above,  and  with  innumer- 
able tiny  rills  flowing  into  them,  and  receiving  more  or  less  drainage 
from  within  its  own  districts.  Below  this  still  another  series  of 
ponds,  much  larger,  receive  drainage  from  the  waters  above,  and 
empty  themselves  below  either  into  another  series  or,  uniting  in 
some  large  pond,  receive  all  this  drainage  and  flow  onward  and 
forward,  through  valleys  and  rocky  gorges,  with  precipices  and 
rocky  chfls  on  either  side,  miles  into  the  country.  After  some 
distance  this  again  will  unite  with  another  large  pond  which 
receives  a  similar  drainage  from  some  other  direction ;  thus,  the 
whole  country  presents  an  appearance  most  unusually  grand  and 


88  "  HEIGHT  OF  LAND. 


wild,  fit  region  only  for  the  Indian  and  trapper,  where  the  otter, 
beaver,  and  martin  form  the  staple  productions,  and  the  flesh 
of  deer  and  bear  the  staple  consumption. 

About  two  hundred  miles  from  the  sea  the  "Height  of  Land," 
as  it  is  called,  presents  itself  as  a  series  of  high  hills,  and  really  a 
part  of  that  great  chain  of  mountains  which  one  strikes  directly 
north  from  Quebec  and  which  follow  the  country  across  the  Labra- 
dor peninsula  to  above  Cape  Charles  on  the  eastern  part  of  the 
coast. 

As  this  series  of  hills  runs  along  the  country  at  varying  distances 
of  from  two  to  five  hundred  miles  from  the  coast,  the  intervening 
region  consists  of  a  descending  series  of  elevations,  until  directly 
on  the  coast  line  itself  it  assumes  a  height  of  from  three  to  seven 
hundred  feet.  The  ''Height  of  Land,"  often  contains  hills  from 
looo  to  2000  feet  in  height,  and  while  few  are  over  that,  Mt.  Bache 
was  found  by  the  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  to  be  some  2160  feet  high. 
According  to  Packard,  "Its  watershed"  (that  of  Labrador)  "is 
said  by  Kohlmeister  and  Knoch,  to  be  a  chain  of  high  mountains 
which  terminate  in  the  lofty  peaks  of  syenite  at  Aulezavic  island  and 
Cape  Chudleigh,  which  are  the  highest  mountains  in  Labrador,  and 
rise  probably  over  3000  feet  in  height." 

The  river  system  of  the  peninsula  is  restricted  to  one  or  two 
principal  rivers  ;  while  the  stream  system  is  ample,  nearly  every  small 
bay  having  for  its  head  a  body  of  running  water — and  the  numerous 
streamlets  all  along  the  coast  fully  support  the  view  that  there  is 
an  abundance  of  water  inland.  Let  us  return,  now,  to  our  descrip- 
tion of  Old  Fort  bay,  and  having  chosen  this,  of  the  many  similar 
places  along  the  coast,  see  what  beauties  it  possesses  and  what  nat- 
ural attractions  it  yields. 

The  outline  of  Old  Fort  bay,  is,  as  I  have  said,  a  row  of  hills 
three  to  five  hundred  feet  in  height  on  the  left,  and  another  and 
smaller  series  of  elevations  scarce  one  hundred  feet  upon  the  right 
of  the  entrance  of  the  bay.  Directly  across  the  ridge  to  the  right, 
which  is  in  fact  a  much  twisted,  contorted,  and  irregularly  cut  up  pe- 
ninsula, lies  the  western  arm  of  Esquimaux  river,  whose  mouth  you 


OLD  FORT  BAY.  89 


remember  is  so  nearly  occupied  at  this  point  with  Esquimaux  island, 
that  the  passage  between  it  and  the  mainland  on  the  east  is  barely 
large  enough  for  small  boats.  The  bay  extends  directly  inward  about 
a  mile,  then  takes  a  sudden  turn  to  the  right  for  about  the  same  dis- 
tance, giving  to  the  whole  the  shape  of  a  bent  arm.  Strange  to  say, 
no  stream  of  any  size  enters  this  large  bay.  A  small  brook  only, 
made  up  of  the  drainage  of  the  neighboring  hills,  flows  into  it. 
To  give  you  an  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  country  is  cut  up  by 
ponds,  let  me  say  that  the  distance  between  the  end  of  the  bay  and 
the  Mission  station,  situated  several  miles  up  the  river,  near  the 
contraction  in  the  stream  just  below  the  first  rapids,  is  only  five 
miles ;  yet  there  are  three  ways  of  going  between  the  two  places, 
and  each  time  a  line  of  three  distinct  ponds  is  traversed,  and  with 
the  exception  of  one  pond  which  is  the  first  and  same  crossed 
on  two  of  the  routes,  no  pond  is  traversed  twice ;  between  all 
of  these  are  elevations  varying  often  from  two  to  three  hundred  feet 
in  height,  though  generally  less  than  one  hundred.  The  whole 
country  is  similarly  cut  up  into  elevations  and  depressions  whose 
basins  contain  a  pond,  the  accumulation  of  the  drainage  surround- 
ing it. 

A  single  stream  enters  the  bay  from  the  centre  of  the  left  hand 
side  of  the  entrance ;  it  comes  from  a  line  of  ponds  extending 
backward  into  the  country,  and  I  am  informed  that  one  of  them  is 
an  excellent  trout  pond.  The  most  interesting  point  in  all  the  bay, 
the  elbow  as  we  will  call  it,  remains  to  be  spoken  of.  If  we  describe 
it  as  having  the  appearance  of  two  semicircles  placed  side  by  side 
^'-^,^^  and  with  an  island  just  off  the  joint,  we  shall  present  a  very 
fair  picture  of  the  location.  The  larger  of  these  curved 
pieces  is  the  elbow  proper.  The  left  hand  (the  larger)  is  a  sandy 
strip  of  beach  with  high  cliffs  about  it,  and  a  sloping  ridge  whose 
summit  is  a  straight  line  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length 
above  it.  This  elevation  slopes  gradually  to  the  sea.  Above,  it 
presents  the  appearance  of  an  artificial  fortification  lying  between 
two  high  peaks,  one  at  the  left  and  the  other  at  the  right.  The 
top  of  this  ridge,  nearly  level  for  some  thirty  or  forty  rods,  falls 


90  BACK  OF  THE  BAY. 


gently  to  a  pond  beyond.  The  pond  lies  about  225  feet  above 
the  sea  level,  while  the  top  of  the  ridge  is  about  275  feet,  thus 
making  a  difference  of  level  between  the  two  of  fifty  feet.  The 
slope  of  the  bank  in  front  is  some  thirty  degrees.  It  is  evident 
that  an  immense  glacier,  receiving  arms  it  may  be  from  several 
quarters  of  the  country  in  the  interior,  made  its  stand  here, 
and  thence  crept  down  into  the  sea  polishing  off  this  ridge,  and 
scooping  out  the  basin  of  this  part  of  the  bay.  It  is  along  the 
bank  of  the  eastern  part  of  this  cove  that  the  old  colonists  chose 
their  abode,  and  fixed  their  huts.  At  a  late  day  foundations  of 
these  were  still  standing,  and  I  have  been  informed  that  there  are 
those  now  living  who  have  dug  up  old  copper  coins,  and  relics 
of  various  other  kinds  about  this  same  place.  No  signs  of  either 
relics  or  foundations  are  now  to  be  found,  although  the  most 
careful  search  has  been  made  all  about  these  regions.  The  second 
circular  division  of  this  beach  presents  a  totally  different  aspect 
from  that  just  described.  Its  central  point  is  a  mass  of  rocks,  and 
rocks  continue  in  greater  or  less  profusion  all  along  to  the  end 
of  the  bay,  though  especially  abundant  right  in  this  particular  place. 
There  is  a  raised  bank  or  platform,  about  one-quarter  of  a  mile 
long,  and  thirty  or  forty  rods  deep,  through  which  flows  a  small 
stream  which  has  evidently  eaten  its  way  to  and  gradually  sunk 
within  a  few  feet  above  high  tide,  while  the  bank  itself  is  scarcely 
twenty  feet  above  the  sea.  Back  of  this  are  the  hills,  from  three  to 
four  hundred  feet  high.  Close  on  the  rocky  shore  the  kind  people, 
who  so  cordially  entertained  us  at  Old  Fort  island,  have  their 
"winter  quarters,"  while  another  family  occupies  the  other  side  of 
the  point.  The  little  island  opposite  the  house  is  one  huge  mass 
of  rock,  covered  with  scanty  vegetation. 

A  remarkable  formation  exists  just  east  of  the  house.  You  can 
pass  by  the  large  rock  at  the  left  of  the  building  only  at  low  tide, 
when  you  come  to  a  sand  cove  and  sand  bar,  the  latter  bare  at 
high  tide,  that  connects  with  another  rocky  mass,  which,  extending 
towards  the  sea,  corresponds  in  its  nature  to  the  island  above 
mentioned  ;  all  around  is  rock  and  mud,  yet  this  little  strip  of  sand 


ARTIFICIAL  POND.  91 


is  prominent  and  peculiar  in  its  situation.  The  sea  washes  close 
up  to  it  upon  either  side  but  does  not  cover  it.  A  little  way  back 
is  seen  the  slope  of  the  embankment  terrace  and  between  the  two 
the  remains  of  a  most  curious  structure.  Here  is  represented  the 
last  remaining  traces  of  the  old  colony,  in  the  shape  probably,  of  a 
concealed  dock  for  boats  and  small  vessels.  It  is  an  artificial  pond, 
and,  covered  from  all  observation  until  this  part  of  the  bay  is  reached, 
its  presence  would  never  be  expected  unless  looked  for.  A  slight 
sand  bank  in  that  corner  of  the  bay  had  so  shut  off  this  inlet  that 
at  low  tide  a  natural  basin  of  water  was  separated  by  this  same  sand 
bank  from  the  water  of  the  bay.  This  basin  shows  signs  of  being 
enlarged,  deepened,  and  has  an  embankment  around  it  the  walls 
of  which  are  kept  in  place  by  huge  stones  ;  these  one  can  plainly  see 
have  been  worked  and  built  up  around  it.  The  stones  are  carefully 
arranged  so  that  the  bases  are  downward  and  the  pointed  or  smallest 
end  uppermost,  while  the  interspaces  are  filled  up  with  smaller  stones 
and  earth  :  the  whole  top  is  earthed  over  and  covered  around  with 
a  layer  of  large  flat  stones.  This  appears  to  preclude  the  possibility 
of  the  whole  affair  being  a  production  of  nature.  Sheltered  as  it  is, 
it  would  make  an  excellent  hiding  place  or  repairing  place  for 
small  boats,  which  could  easily  make  way  over  the  bar  at  high  water. 
Another  pecuharity,  however,  presents  itself ;  there  is,  at  low  tide,  a 
drainage  from  the  small  basin  into  the  sea  through  this  sand  bank. 
Were  there  now  no  inlet  to  this  small  pond,  as  in  fact  there 
is,  it  would  be  drained  twice  a  day  while  the  tide  was  low,  since 
it  is  very  shallow  at  best.  Advantage  has  been  taken  of  this  fact, 
apparently.  A  short  passage  has  been  made  from  the  northeast 
side  so  that  the  brook,  which  I  mentioned  before  as  flowing  in  a 
channel  through  the  embankment  beyond,  is  somewhat  slightly 
diverted  so  as  to  run  into  the  basin.  Now  the  fresh  waters  of  this 
brook,  running  in  at  all  times  with  a  stream  of  several  times  the 
volume  as  the  outflow  at  low  tide,  are  continually  freshening  the 
waters  in  the  basin,  until  before  low  tide  is  reached  you  have  an  ar- 
tificial pond  of  clear,  fresh  water  with  sandy  bottom  and  suitable 
for  the  cattle  who  come  to  its  banks  regularly  to  drink,  and  even 


92  LONG -TAILED   DUCK. 


the  family  supply  is  easily  obtained  quite  pure  enough  for  family 
purposes.  The  pond  would  therefore  supply  a  large  number  both 
of  cattle  and  of  families.  Though  I  have  seen  no  evidence  either 
for  or  against  the  theory  that  the  early  colonists  had  cattle  with  them, 
it  seems  to  me  at  least  very  probable  that  such  were,  as  I  have  sug- 
gested, the  intentions  of  the  people  in  making  this  peculiar  structure. 
I  will  not  now  speak  at  length  of  the  curious  superstition  of  some 
of  the  people  whom  I  have  seen,  that  this  structure  in  some  way  con- 
ceals large  pots  of  gold  left  by  the  French,  but  will  leave  this  and 
other  superstitions  of  a  like  nature  for  some  other  time  and  place,  if 
indeed  they  are  worth  mentioning  at  all. 

Though  there  is  little  or  no  beach,  properly  speaking,  the  land 
slopes  down  quite  close  to  the  sea  in  one  or  two  places  ;  these  have 
been  chosen  for  building  spots  and  houses  erected  accordingly. 
Back  of  the  houses  all  is  a  dense  mass  of  low,  tangled  spruce  and 
fir,  extending  on  and  over  the  hills  some  distance  into  the  interior. 

I  must  here  yield  to  a  natural  desire  and  describe  to  you  two 
new  species  of  birds  which  were  procured  here.  The  first,  the 
Canada  or  tree  span'ow  {Spizella  monticold)  which  is  rare  except 
in  its  migrations,  apparently ;  the  second,  the  long  tailed  duck 
(^Harelda  glacialis).  The  latter  bird  is  called  the  ^''coc-cau-wee,^^ 
from  the  sound  made  by  the  males  which  resembles  the  pronunci- 
ation of  these  words.  Another  name  for  the  birds  is  that  of 
"hounds."  The  female  resembles  the  female  of  another  bird  called 
the  dipper  or  buffle  head,  sometimes  the  butter  ball  and  spirit 
duck,  but  which  is  here  called  "sleepy  diver,"  from  the  slowness  of 
its  movements  in  the  water.  The  marked  difference  between  the 
two  is  the  absence  of  white  on  the  wing  of  the  long  tailed  duck ; 
whether  the  young  birds  of  the  two  species  are  distinguishable  or 
not  I  could  not  ascertain.  The  people  here  cannot  tell  you  which 
is  the  sleepy  diver,  as  they  call  it,  and  which  the  female  of  the  long 
tailed  duck,  or  even  distinguish  the  young,  but  call  them  all  indis- 
criminately sleepy  divers.  It  will  never  do  for  a  stranger  to  tell 
them  they  are  wrong ;  they  think  that  you  are  the  one  wrong  in  all 
cases,  and  you  cannot  possibly  convince  them  that  a  stranger  can 


BIRDS.  93 

learn  any  more  of  any  object  connected  with  the  region  than  the 
people  of  that  region. 

Wednesday  the  13th.  I  shot  a  bird  to-day  that  has  a  most  peculiar 
name  in  the  vocabulary  of  the  natives ;  it  is  called  by  them  the 
Nan-cary\  pronounced  as  if  spelt  nan-sary;  it  is  in  fact  the  greater 
yellow  legs  {Totamts  7nela7ioleucus) ,  and  is  more  or  less  common 
in  the  late  fall  either  singly  or  in  small  flocks  along  the  beach  with 
the  small  sandpipers  and  plovers. 

Thursday  the  14th.  It  seems  as  if  I  did  little  else  but  describe 
birds ;  but  as  there  are  more  of  these  than  of  any  other  animals  in 
the  place,  and  as  I  have  attempted  to  follow  the  outlines  of  my 
journal,  I  hope  that  in  doing  so  I  shall  not  render  tedious  a  sub- 
ject delightful  in  itself,  but  for  which  others  may  not  care  so  much, 
while  the  omission  of  which  would  disarrange  what  I  regard  as 
the  natural  order  of  a  series  of  articles  of  this  kind.  I  will  then 
tell  you  of  still  another  new  and  somewhat  rare  species  of  bird, 
captured  to-day,  called  the  Lapland  longspur  {Plectrophanes  lap- 
po7iicus) .  The  development  of  the  hind  claw  of  this  bird  is  some- 
thing remarkable,  often  reaching  three-fourths  of  an  inch  or  over. 
It  is  found  either  alone  or  in  company  with  the  immense  flocks  of 
snow  buntings  so  common  at  the  approach  and  departure  of  win- 
ter. The  bird  was  feeding  at  dusk  near  the  kelp  on  the  shore  and 
with  several  others  probably  of  the  same  kind, — their  flight  and 
notes  were  like  those  of  the  shore  lark  so  common  here.  It  was 
rather  wild,  and  was  either  a  female  or  young  bird.  Though  having 
seen  the  bird  several  times  to  my  certain  knowledge,  I  only  suc- 
ceeded in  shooting  a  single  specimen. 

The  wind  has  blown  pretty  hard  all  day.  It  seems  no  unusual 
thing  for  a  wind  storm  to  set  in  and  last  several  days  here,  while 
often  the  wind  blows  with  such  force  that  it  is  dangerous  to  at- 
tempt any  sort  of  navigation.  Strange  to  say  an  Indian  canoe 
("cranky"  as  it  is  generally  regarded)  will  ''ride  "with  apparent 
safety  where   any  other  boat  would  be  swamped  in  an  instant. 

Though  the  wind  was  not  really  severe,  this  afternoon,  we  had 
hard  work  to  manage  the  boat  to  and  from  Old  Fort  bay,  where  we 


94  RAVEN. 


went  to  take  a  load  of  articles  to  be  transferred  to  "winter  quar- 
ters." The  cold  weather  is  rapidly  coming  on,  and  we  must  be 
prepared  for  it  by  moving  into  our  winter  home  before  very  long. 
It  is  a  desolate  looking  region,  I  assure  you,  but  we  will  try  and 
make  things  as  comfortable  as  we  can  for  all  that.  We  have  had 
several  ravens  hovering  about  the  fish  stage  to-day ;  the  people  seem 
to  regard  them  as  birds  of  ill  omen,  and  say  that  they  are  in  league 
with  the  devil.  You  can  rarely  get  any  of  the  natives  to  shoot 
at  one  of  these  birds  no  matter  how  near  they  come,  and  they 
seem  positively  afraid  of  the  results  of  so  doing,  fearing  that  it  will 
bring  them  misfortune  for  the  remainder  of  the  year.  The  bird 
is  really  a  very  difficult  one  to  shoot.  I  have  often  lain  in  wait 
for  it  with  my  gun,  firing  at  it  when  both  at  rest  and  on  the  wing, 
at  a  very  short  distance  off,  and  had  it  raise  its  huge  black  wings 
and  fly  slowly  off  with  a  harsh  and  hollow  croak  as  much  as  if 
to  defy  both  me  and  my  gun.  I  have  wasted  more  extra  large 
ducking  charges  at  the  raven  than  almost  any  other  bird,  and  have 
seen  the  least  results.  The  bird  itself  is  very  common  every^vhere, 
summer  and  winter ;  breeding  on  the  high  cliffs  and  hill  tops, 
and  remaining  about  wherever  there  was  any  putrid  flesh.  It  ap- 
parently loves  to  walk  or  fly  about  on  the  tops  of  the  hilly  crests 
on  the  mainland,  and  on  the  trees  near  the  frozen  bays  in  winter. 
It  frequents  the  seacoast,  and  is  common  about  the  inland  ponds 
and  lakes.  It  replaces  the  crow,  which  rarely  though  occasion- 
ally is  found  in  these  regions.  The  scientific  name  for  the  raven 
is  Corvjcs  corax. 

Friday  the  15th.  I  became  quite  well  acquainted  to-day  with 
the  pigeon,  as  it  is  here  called,  otherwise  known  as  the  black  guil- 
lemot {Uria  grylle).  This  little  bird  is  one  of  the  most  abundant 
of  the  waterfowl  next  to  the  eider  ducks  and  Murres,  that  we 
have  upon  the  coast.  Near  St.  Augustine  we  saw  this  bird  for  the 
first  time  though  it  is  found  all  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  as  far  south 
as  New  Jersey,  growing  more  and  more  rare  as  it  approaches  the 
latter  place  where  it  was  found  in  winter.  I  have  seen  them 
everywhere  in  the  waters  in  and  about  the  islands,  though  never 


"PIGEON"  GUILLEMOT.  95 

very  far  from  land,  from  the  opening  of  the  bay  in  the  spring  until 
the  ice  closes  the  last  open  waters  early  in  December.  I  have 
found  several  stages  of  plumage  (referable  to  the  ages)  of  this  bird 
which  takes  three  years  to  mature.  A  very  extraordinary  form 
marks  the  second  year's  growth.  The  whole  plumage  is  inky 
black  both  below  and  above,  and  with  white  blotches  imperfectly 
rounded,  the  size  of  an  ordinary  thimble  head,  scattered  irregularly 
all  over  it  above  and  below ;  the  bill  is  blackish  carmine,  the  legs 
and  feet  dusky  carmine.  The  wings  with  a  pure  white  patch  as 
usual.  I  think  the  white  tail  coverts  were  present,  but  am  not 
sure  on  this  point.  I  cannot  learn  that  this  plumage  appears  at 
any  other  time  than  in  the  fall  of  the  year ;  they  are  rare  here,  and 
apparently  pass  this  stage  in  some  wild  place  or  region  where  they 
are  not  easily  detected.  The  hunters  about  the  coast  told  me  that 
they  were  i*are. 

In  the  early  fall  the  pigeon  is  quite  tame,  but  grows  wilder  as 
the  cold  weather  advances.  When  pursuing  them  from  a  boat 
they  are  at  times  easy  to  approach  while  at  others  difficult  and  very 
wild  without  any  apparent  reason.  It  will  usually  dive  "  at  the  flash," 
but  often  when  feeding  it  allows  you  to  come  quite  near.  In  feed- 
ing, the  bird  bends  its  neck  forward  and  dips  its  beak  into  the  wa- 
ter ;  at  this  time,  when  the  head  is  turned  forward  and  a  little  away 
from  the  hunter,  he  is  generally  sure  of  hitting  his  game.  Often 
the  pigeon  takes  wing  nearly  as  soon  as  it  perceives  a  boat  ap- 
proaching, and  it  is  then  impossible  to  get  anywhere  within  shoot- 
ing distance  of  it ;  the  flight  is  then  rapid  but  easy,  generally 
low  and  straight.  When  tame  it  usually  escapes  by  diving  "  at  the 
flash  "  and  swimming  a  great  distance  under  water,  easily  and  in 
any  direction.  When  wounded,  they  often  dive,  and,  I  think  after 
the  manner  of  many  ducks,  swim  to  the  bottom  and  clinging  to 
the  seaweed  die  there.  I  have  often  watched  them  dive  thus,  but 
have  not  seen  them  arise.  They  stay  around  near  the  land  feed- 
ing, on  still  warm  days,  often  many  together.  In  flying  low  over 
the  water,  if  fired  at  I  have  often  seen  them  suddenly  drop  down 
and  dive,  disappearing  almost  instantly.     The  flesh,  especially  of 


96  MOVING  TO  «  WINTER  QUARTERS." 

the  young  birds,  is  excellent  eating  and  they  are  shot  in  great 
numbers ;  it  is  called  the  hardest  bird  to  kill,  next  to  a  loon,  that 
inhabits  the  waters  of  the  coast. 

The  pigeon  breeds  in  large  numbers  on  several  of  the  small  isl- 
ands along  the  coast.  On  one  small  island  colonies  of  this  bird 
breed  exclusively.  They  lay  usually  three  eggs  in  some  exposed 
situation  or  in  the  cleft  of  some  rock,  making  no  nest,  and  let 
the  sun  do  the  greatest  share  of  the  hatching;  they  are  oblong 
and  ovoid  in  shape,  tapering  suddenly,  the  ground  color  being 
from  greenish  to  pure  white,  and  the  varied  streaks  and  blotches 
or  spots  scattered  more  or  less  thickly  all  over  their  surface,  es- 
pecially so  in  a  ring  around  the  top  of  the  egg,  are  of  black,  or  vari- 
ous shades  of  brown.  Nearly  all  the  birds  of  this  family  have  what 
are  apparently  purplish  spots,  but  these  are  black  primarily  and 
appear  purple  only  from  a  slight  covering  of  the  white  lime  of  the 
shell  itself. 

The  weather  had  now  become  so  moderated  that  the  next  few 
days  were  employed  in  "moving  in,"  that  is,  in  transferring  the 
household  goods  and  utensils  together  with  the  people  and  live 
stock  into  their  abode  for  the  long,  coming  winter.  The  house  was 
much  like  the  one  we  were  about  to  leave,  but  rather  more  com- 
pact and  a  great  deal  warmer. 

With  the  exception  of  a  species  of  short-eared  owl,  peculiar  to 
the  region,  no  particularly  new  birds  had  been  obtained.  Though 
owls  are  generally  regarded  as  rare  in  this  region,  I  believe  them 
more  common  than  usually  supposed,  several  of  the  brown  colored 
species  having  been  observed.  In  regard  to  the  one  mentioned, 
it  was  shot  by  one  of  the  men  who  said  that  about  dusk  the  bird 
attacked  him  and  he  could  not  drive  it  away  until  he  had  put  the 
whole  charge  of  shot  through  its  body,  and  so  badly  blown  it  to 
pieces  that  I  was  unable  to  do  anything  with  it  but  save  a  few 
feathers  by  which  to  determine  the  species.  It  appears  to  be  an  ex- 
traordinarily dark  variety  of  our  common  short-eared  owl  {Brac/iy- 
otus  palustris) . 


INDIAN  TENTS.  97 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Indian  tents  —  New  fields  for  research  —  Visit  to  the  Indians  —  Seals'  flesh 
— Dogskin  boots  — Cattle  food  in  hard  winters  — Coptis  irifolia  —  Spruce 
Partridge  —  Inland  —  Hypothesis  of  Aurora  —  Little  Auk  —  Signs  of 
wreck  —  Ascent  of  the  western  arm  of  the  bay  —  Wreck  of  the  Edward 
Cardwell  —  Picking  up  lumber  —  First  snowstorm  of  the  winter. 


We  had  hardly  entered  the  bay  before  we  saw  in  the  distance 
the  mishwaps  of  the  Indians,  who  had  chosen  this  for  their  camp- 
ing place.  The  Indian  mishwap,  or  tent,  is  a  pecuharly  arranged 
structure,  and  suited  only  to  the  wants  of  the  people  who  oc- 
cupy it ;  being  the  usual,  movable  dwelling  place  of  this  nomadic 
and  roving  people.  It  is  generally  called  by  the  name  of  wigwam, 
and  is  the  same,  very  nearly,  as  the  tent-like  structures  that  go  by 
that  name  in  western  North  America.  It  is  composed  of  long, 
thin,  rounded  sticks  that  have  been  hardened  by  charring  in  the 
fire,  and  which  are  set  about  in  a  circle  whose  ground  diameter 
is  some  ten  feet ;  the  tops  loosely  put  together  overlap  each  other 
a  foot  or  eighteen  inches.  Around  this  are  layers  of  birch  bark, 
and  over  the  bark  more  sticks  are  placed  so  as  to  fall  each  one  be- 
tween the  other  two  all  around  the  outside.  All  holes  are  then 
patched  and  covered ;  while  the  top  remains  loosely  open  to  allow 
the  smoke  and  bad  odors  to  escape.  A  small  opening  in  front 
permits  the  inhabitants  to  enter  or  leave  by  stooping  very  low  in- 
deed. The  pecuHarity  about  these  abodes,  and  the  feature  that 
characterizes  them  even  when  seen  at  a  distance,  is  the  plume-like 
appearance  of  the  top,  as  it  is  thus  constituted.  I  know  of  no 
mere  piling  together  of  sticks  that  will  produce  this  peculiar  ar- 
rangement. By  it,  these  tents  can  be  distinguished  as  far  as  they 
7 


98  FIORD  VALLEYS. 


can  be  seen.  That  the  structure  may  not  be  visible  a  great  dis- 
tance, it  is  generally  placed  behind  some  protecting  ledge  or  rise 
of  rocks,  though  not  always. 

From  the  entrance  of  the  bay  then,  as  I  have  said,  we  caught  a 
view  of  the  Indian  mishwaps,  backed  by  the  verdure  of  slopes, 
hills,  ravines,  ridges,  and  the  various  contour  of  a  most  uneven 
background  in  the  profile  of  the  evergreen  spruce  tops, — which  low 
shrub  is  everywhere  abundant  outside  as  is  the  large  tree  inland. 

On  either  hand  a  succession  of  hilly  crests  marked  the  boundary 
of  the  bay,  whose  inner  arm  or  bend  extended  far  to  the  right. 
Passing  beyond  the  little  island  just  off  the  central  point,  we  came 
in  full  view  of  the  house,  with  its  line  of  rocky  and  sandy  beach 
running  around  on  either  side ;  here  we  were  soon  seated  by  a 
roaring  and  crackling  fire  of  good  spruce  wood. 

Old   Fort  bay  has  much  the  general   shape    and   direction  of 
so  many  of  the  bays  in  this  vicinity,  so  often  termed  "fiord  val- 
leys-"    They  are  long,  narrow,  for  the  most  part  shallow  passages, 
between  the  rocks  running  a  little  north  of  east,  and  evidently  of 
glacial  origin.     These  little  bays   are  quite  abundant  all  up  and 
down  the  coast,  and  undoubtedly  would,  at  least  to  one  well  versed 
in  such  readings,  describe  a  long  and  ancient  story  of  glacial  phe- 
nomena and  local  disturbances.     The  whole  glacial  question  will 
finally,  without  doubt,  obtain  abundance  of  fresh,  new,  and  useful 
evidence  by  a  careful   study  of  this  region,  and  it  is  a  wonder 
that  no  one  has  examined  with  a  greater  degree  of  care  the  whole 
Labrador  peninsula.     Here  is  a  vast,  and  untried  field  for  explo- 
ration.    The  North  Pole  is  undoubtedly  the  ultimate  end  of  re- 
search in  this  direction,  but  I  venture  to  affirm  that  no  one  will  be 
successful  in  that  end  until  they  have  made  a  careful  land  explora- 
tion of  this  keystone  to  polar  investigation,  the  Labrador  Penin- 
sula—  from  seacoast  inward  to  the  "height  of  land,"  and  thence 
followed  its  great  streams  and  leading  trends  of  northward  high- 
lands.    The  greatest  wonder  is  that  as  yet  we  have  no  definite 
knowledge  of  this  new  and  unexplored  field.    But  to  return  : — 
After  a  good  supper  we  went  to  visit  the  Indians  and  Joe  Mark, 


INDIAN  DOGSKIN  BOOTS.  99 

the  sub-chief  of  this  division  of  the  tribe.  We  found  him,  to 
speak  plainly,  in  a  state  of  beastly  intoxication.  He  had  come  out 
to  sell  his  furs,  and  having  received  sufficient  to  supply  his  demands 
for  food  he  had  used  the  surplus  for  drink,  and  that  a  little  too 
freely,  judging  from  the  effects  wrought  upon  his  mind  and  body. 
He  was  lying  down  when  we  entered,  but  he  managed  to  place 
himself  in  a  half  sitting  and  half  lying  attitude  and  carry  on  a  con- 
versation with  a  great  deal  of  "talk-um"  on  our  part  and  consider- 
able muttering  on  his.  We  saw  how  matters  stood,  and  soon  came 
away  and  returned  home ;  not,  however,  until  we  had  obtained 
part  of  a  young  seal,  that  some  one  of  the  Indians  had  recently 
killed,  and  which  we  broiled  on  a  spider  for  our  breakfast  the  next 
morning.  Let  me  say  here,  that  the  flesh  of  a  young  seal,  when 
well  cooked,  resembles  cow's  liver  so  nearly  that  one  can  hardly 
tell  the  difference ;  and  I  believe  that  if  I  could  place  a  dish  of 
each  before  a  stranger  in  Labrador  who  had  tasted  neither  for  a 
long  series  of  months  he  would  be  unable  to  tell  accurately  which 
was  which,  so  nearly  do  they  resemble  each  other.  We  also  ob- 
tained some  dried  deer's  meat,  which  is  soaked  and  fried,  or  eaten 
dry,  and  is  very  good. 

Monday  the  25  th.  I  put  on,  to-day,  my  first  pair  of  Indian, 
dogskin  boots.  They  are  made  like  long  legged  moccasins,  the 
foot  part  being  made  of  sealskin  (the  top  only  of  dogskin),  and 
the  sole  being  soft  and  pliable,  and  as  sensitive  as  a  glove  upon  the 
hand.  The  foot  is  therefore  free  to  move  in  most  any  direction, 
and  thus  useful  especially  in  climbing,  where  one  is  obliged  to 
grasp  and  cling  by  the  clinch  of  the  toes.  It  is  quite  trying  how- 
ever, to  walk  for  the  first  few  times  on  stony  or  pebbly  ground,  as 
the  little  corners  injure  the  feet  most  terribly  until  they  become 
hardened  and  accustomed  to  the  peculiar  feeling  of  having  the 
bottom  of  the  boot  soft  and  flexible  instead  of  hard  and  stifl";  but 
one  soon  gets  used  to  the  change  and  then  enjoys  the  freedom  of 
feeling  with  the  foot. 

Wednesday  the  27th.     I  attempted  a  sort  of  exploration  of  the 
country  back  of  the  hills,  close  behind  the  house,  but  found  noth' 


100  GOLD  THREAD. 


ing  but  ponds  and  high  hills,  so  that  with  a  great  deal  of  climb- 
ing and  going  around  to  get  a  very  short  distance  only,  I  was 
obliged  to  return  at  dark  having  accomplished  very  little. 

I  made  a  curious  discovery  this  evening.  On  returning  home 
from  one  of  these  short  daily  trips  I  noticed  a  large  pile  of  heavy 
brush  lying  over  against  the  side  of  the  stable  door  (why  I  had  not 
seen  it  before  I  cannot  tell) ,  and  upon  inquiry  found  that  it  was 
the  remains  of  the  birch  and  alder  tops  with  which  the  cattle  had 
been  fed  the  previous  spring.  It  seems  that,  at  this  time  of  the 
year,  when  fodder  is  scarce,  the  cattle  are  fed  with  the  slender, 
tender  tops  of  these  trees,  and  they  are  eaten  with  avidity  and 
apparent  relish. 

About  this  time  I  discovered  the  plant  Copiis  trifolia,  or  golden 
thread,  from  the  litde,  slender  golden  thread  of  a  root  which  it 
possesses.  It  grows  in  abundance  in  these  regions  and  farther 
west,  and  is  plucked  and  sent  to  market  in  large  quantities.  It  is 
a  mild  tonic  and  treated  with  hot  water  is  taken  with  impunity. 

One  day,  early  this  week,  one  of  the  men  brought  in  a  spruce 
partridge  {Tetrao  Canadensis),  which  he  had  killed  in  the  woods. 
These  birds  are  usually  very  tame.  They  fly  from  cover  and  alight 
in  some  bush,  seemingly  stupefied  from  being  flushed,  while  I  have 
often  known  the  young  fellows  to  knock  them  over  with  sticks  or 
the  ends  of  their  gun  barrels,  without  even  taking  the  trouble  to 
waste  powder  and  shot  upon  them.  One  day  towards  the  close  of 
the  week  we  amused  ourselves  by  digging  a  species  of  clam  (ques- 
tionably Mya  arenaria),  which  is  found  in  the  mud  at  low  tide  just 
here,  in  abundance.  They  were  excellent  eating,  and  made  a  very 
good  soup.  Strange  to  say,  though  they  appear  to  be  abundant 
here,  the  people  seem  to  care  very  little  for  them,  and  seldom  dig 
them. 

Friday,  November  the  2d.  Although  this  morning  I  climbed  the 
ridge  back  of  the  house,  and  over  and  about  the  place  that  many 
of  the  people  suppose  to  have  been  the  location  of  the  old  times 
fortification  and  fort,  but  which  appears  upon  examination  to  pre- 
sent few  facts  to  confirm  such  an  opinion ;  and  though  I  also  went 


ELEVATED  SCENERY.  101 

over  all  the  nearer  peaks  on  this  side  of  the  first  pond  which  is 
just  over  the  ridge,  I  am  in  as  much  of  a  maze,  apparently,  as  I 
was  before,  as  to  theu-  exact  position  and  extent.  From  the  top 
of  the  successive  elevations  I  could  see  pond  after  pond,  and 
ridges  and  gullies  after  ridges  and  gullies,  stretching  onward  and 
outward  in  every  direction.  A  fair  description  of  the  country 
around  here  would  be  a  series  of  ridges  composed  of  crests  of 
unequal  height  divided  both  lengthwise  and  crosswise  by  gullies, 
with  basins  of  water  filling  the  intervening  spaces  or  valleys.  The 
whole  region  is  one  grand  network  of  ponds  and  hills.  I  had  no 
instruments  with  me  for  the  purpose,  and  if  I  had  possessed  them, 
am  no  map  drawer.  As  has  been  before  stated,  a  comparison  of 
several  readings  of  the  barometer  gives  the  height  of  the  external 
ridge  as  275  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  to  which  it  slopes  easily 
and  naturally.  The  pond  beyond  this  ridge  presents  a  lowering  of 
fifty  feet,  while  beyond  this  other  ponds  are  situated  correspond- 
ingly lower,  the  large  pond  or  lake  being  lower  yet.  The  hills  on 
the  left  are  most  of  them  on  a  nearly  average  height — the  two 
highest  being  each  600  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  all  the  other 
prominent  ones  nearly  an  even  500. 

If  I  mistake  not,  evidences  of  glacial  and  water  action  are  locally 
very  abundant,  while  loose  bowlders  and  stones  are  scattered  spar- 
ingly all  along  the  top  crests  even,  and  small  pools  of  water  are 
abundant  here  and  there  on  the  highland  levels  four  to  five  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  sea.  Here  the  soil  is  a  black  muck  or  mud, 
and  reminds  one  greatly  of  some  mucky  patch  of  salt  marsh  along 
our  eastern  United  States,  exposed  a  few  feet  only  at  highest  tide, 
and  transported  to  some  shallow  basin  between  two  or  tliree  sur- 
rounding peaks  of  similar  height.  In  one  instance,  I  found  a  large 
pond  only  one  hundred  feet  from  the  top  of  the  highest  peaks 
which  surrounded  it.  The  gulches  were  frequent  and  full  of 
streams,  in  some  of  which,  especially  in  deep,  shady  gulhes,  were 
remarkably  sweet  and  cold  waters.  All  these  places  are  overgrown 
with  low,  dwarf  spruce  and  fir,  or  birch  and  alder.  In  one  place 
a  small  stream  started  from  near  the  top  of  a  high  peak.     There 


102  AURORA. 


was  no  chance  for  mere  surface  drainage,  and  there  must  either 
have  been  some  secret  spring  or  sort  of  artesian  well  pressure, 
forcing  the  water  thus  to  appear  on  the  very  top  of  a  rocky  crest. 
The  rock  around  seemed  to  be  a  coarse  granite,  with  occasionally 
a  place  where  several  feet  had  been  apparently  scraped  off  and 
ground  to  a  fine  powder  of  sand  and  small  pieces  of  rock,  of 
feldspar  principally,  scattered  all  along  over  the  surface  of  the 
underlying  rock.  Occasionally,  veins  of  feldspar  or  quartz  appear ; 
the  latter  mineral  is  rarely  found  in  a  pure  state  on  this  coast.  All 
the  exposed  rock  appeared  thus  more  or  less  scraped  about  here, 
while  occasionally  the  patch  extended  down  the  slope  of  the  hill 
one-third  or  even  one-half  the  way  to  the  bottom.  There  are 
also  many  small  rounded  cones  or  knolls,  whose  top  is  one  mass  of 
rough  sand,  with  the  rock  only  a  few  inches  beneath.  Another  cu- 
rious fact  is  that  the  beaches  of  most  of  the  ponds  have  a  portion  at 
least  of  their  extent  of  this  same  material,  the  rocks  in  place  lying 
a  little  way  from  the  edge  only ;  the  rest  of  the  beach  is  often  of 
a  fine  pulverized  quartz  and  feldspar  sand,  totally  different  from 
material  of  the  neighboring  rocks.  Fine  beds  of  clear,  nearly  straw 
colored  sand  are  not  uncommon. 

Wednesday,  the  3d.  We  were  fortunate  in  observing  a  most 
beautiful  aurora  this  evening.  The  barometer  indicated  29.00,  and 
the  thermometer  30°  Fahrenheit.  The  sky  was  perfectly  free  from 
clouds,  and  the  air  crisp.  It  first  appeareti'  in  the  east,  then  in  the 
north.  The  primary  appearance  was,  as  is  frequent  in  such  cases, 
a  semicircular  band  of  Hght.  In  this  case  small  pencils  of  light 
floated  about  in  the  air.  Very  soon  a  thick,  heavy  band  of  several 
longitudinal  scroll-like  narrower  bands  appeared  ;  the  whole,  resem- 
bling very  much  a  long  ribbon,  extended  itself  across  the  horizon 
from  these  points,  and  apparently  very  low  down  in  the  atmosphere. 
The  whole  band  was  in  rapid  undulating  motion  from  the  north 
towards  the  east,  and  resembled  the  progressive  onward  motion  of 
a  huge  serpent.  The  appearance  was  quite  striking  and  very 
pretty.  The  band  was  extraordinarily  dense,  and  very  bright.  At 
first  its  edges  were  very  clean   cut   and  well-defined ;    gradually 


PROCTOR  ON  THE  AURORA.  103 

the  light  extended  itself  to  the  northeast,  while  the  eastern  end 
enlarging  and  travelling  faster  than  the  northern,  the  mass  soon 
presented  a  singular  and  nearly  circular  appearance  in  the  north- 
east ;  ten  minutes  after  this  massing  together  of  the  light  the  whole 
disappeared,  and  the  sky  was  entirely  overcast  with  a  light,  thin, 
luminous  curtain  of  this  mysterious,  electrical,  vaporous  substance. 
I  saw  many  very  pretty  auroras  while  here,  but  none  surpassed  the 
one  just  described.  I  found  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  region 
singularly  superstitious  regarding  this  aurora,  in  that  they  fully 
believed  that  it  danced  to  the  sound  of  any  musical  instrument. 
It  was  solemnly  declared  to  me  that  if  I  should  blow  the  flute,  or 
play  upon  the  violin,  the  cloud  would  descend  and  dance  in  the 
air  just  above  me  and  out  of  reach.  On  the  subject  of  this 
curious  phenomenon,  Mr.  Richard  A.  Proctor  says  : — 

"  One  of  the  most  mysterious  and  beautiful  of  Nature's  manifes- 
tations promises  soon  to  disclose  its  secret.  The  brilliant  stream- 
ers of  colored  light  which  wave  at  certain  seasons  over  the  heavens 
have  long  since  been  recognized  as  among  the  most  singular  and 
impressive  of  all  the  phenomena  which  the  skies  present  to  our 
view.  There  is  something  surpassingly  beautiful  in  the  appearance 
of  the  thin  "Auroral  curtain."  Fringed  with  colored  streamers  it 
waves  to  and  fro  as  though  shaken  by  some  unseen  hand.  Then 
from  end  to  end  there  passes  a  succession  of  undulations,  the  folds  of 
the  curtain  interwrapping  and  forming  a  series  of  graceful  curves. 
Suddenly,  and  as  by  magic,  there  succeeds  a  perfect  stillness,  as 
though  the  unseen  power  which  had  been  displaying  the  varied 
beauties  of  the  auroral  curtain  were  resting  for  a  moment.  But 
even  while  the  motion  of  the  curtain  is  stilled  we  see  its  light  mys- 
teriously waxing  and  waning.  Then  as  we  gaze,  fresh  waves  of 
disturbance  traverse  the  magic  canopy.  Startling  coruscations  add 
splendor  to  the  scene,  while  the  nobler  span  of  the  auroral  arch 
from  which  the  waving  curtain  seems  to  depend  gives  a  grandeur 
to  the  spectacle  which  no  words  can  adequately  describe.  Grad- 
ually, however,  the  celestial  fires  which  have  illuminated  the  gor- 
geous arch  seem  to  die  out.     The  luminous  zone  breaks  up.     The 


104  STRANGE  HYPOTHESIS. 

scene  of  the  display  becomes  covered  with  scattered  streaks  and 
patches  of  ashen-gray  light,  which  hang  like  clouds  over  the  north- 
em  heavens.  Then  these  in  turn  disappear,  and  nothing  remains 
of  the  brilliant  spectacle  but  a  dark  smoke-like  segment  on  the 
horizon. 

"  Hitherto  the  nature  of  the  aurora  has  been  a  mystery  to  men 
of  science.  Let  it  be  premised,  then,  that  physicists  had  long 
since  recognized  in  the  aurora  a  phenomenon  of  more  than  local, 
of  more  even  than  terrestrial  significance.  They  had  learned  to 
associate  it  with  relations  which  affect  the  whole  planetary 
scheme. 

"  Arago  was  engaged  in  watching  from  day  to  day,  and  from  year 
to  year,  the  vibrations  of  the  magnetic  needle  in  the  Paris  Observa- 
tory. In  Jan.,  1819,  he  published  a  statement  to  the  effect  that  the 
sudden  changes  of  the  magnetic  needle  are  often  associated  with 
the  occurrence  of  an  aurora."  The  statements  are  then  given  in 
his  own  words,  and  from  them  the  following  deduction  is  made : 
^^From  all  this  it  appears  incontestably  that  there  is  an  intimate 
connection  between  the  causes  of  auroras  and  those  of  terrestrial 
magnetism  r 

This  strange  hypothesis,  was,  at  first,  much  opposed  by  scientific 
men,  but  gradually  it  was  found  that  physicists  had  mistaken  the 
character  of  the  auroral  display.  It  appeared  that  the  magnetic 
needle  not  only  swayed  responsively  to  auroras  observable  in  the  im- 
mediate neighborhood,  but  to  auroras  in  progress  hundreds,  or  even 
thousands  of  miles  away.  It  has  been  found  that  a  much  closer 
bond  of  sympathy  exists  between  the  magnetized  needle  and  the 
auroral  streamers  than  even  Arago  had  supposed.  It  is  not  merely 
the  case  that  while  an  auroral  display  is  in  progress,  the  needle  is 
subject  to  unusual  disturbance,  but  the  movements  of  the  needle 
are  actually  synchronous  with  the  waving  movements  of  the  mys- 
terious streamers. 

"  I  may  notice  in  passing  that  two  very  interesting  conclusions 
follow  from  this  peculiarity  :  First,  every  magnetic  needle  over  the 
whole  earth  must  be  simultaneously  disturbed ;  and,  secondly,  the 


ZODIACAL  LIGHT.  105 


auroral  streamers  which  wave  across  the  skies  of  one  country  must 
move  synchronously  with  those  which  are  visible  in  the  skies  of 
another  country,  even  though  thousands  of  miles  may  separate  the 
two  regions. 

"  Could  we  only  associate  auroras  with  terrestrial  magnetism,  we 
should  still  have  done  much  to  enhance  the  interest  which  the  beau- 
tiful phenomena  are  calculated  to  excite.  But  when  once  this  asso- 
ciation has  been  estabhshed,  others  of  even  greater  interest  are 
brought  into  recognition ;  for  "  —  I  take  the  liberty  of  italicizing  for 
emphasis  this  portion  which  is  printed  in  Roman  in  the  text —  "  ter- 
restrial ftiagnetism  has  been  clearly  shown  to  be  influenced  directly 
by  the  action  of  the  sun^ 

"  We  already  begin  to  see,  then,  that  auroras  are  associated  in 
some  mysterious  way  with  the  action  of  the  solar  rays.  The  phe- 
nomena which  have  been  looked  upon  for  so  many  ages  as  a  mere 
spectacle,  caused  perhaps  by  some  process  in  the  upper  regions  of 
the  air,  of  a  simply  local  character,  have  been  brought  into  the 
range  of  planetary  phenomena. 

"  Most  of  my  readers  have  doubtless  heard  of  the  zodiacal 
light,  and  many  of  them  have  perhaps  seen  that  mysterious  radi- 
ance, pointing  obliquely  upward  from  the  western  horizon,  soon 
after  sunset  in  the  spring  months,  or  in  autumn  shortly  before  sun- 
rise, above  the  eastern  horizon.  The  Hght,  as  its  name  indeed  im- 
plies, lies  upon  that  region  of  the  heavens  along  which  the  planets 
travel.  Accordingly,  astronomers  have  associated  it  with  the  plan- 
etary orbits,  and  have  come  to  look  on  it  as  formed  by  the  light  re- 
flected from  a  multitude  of  minute  bodies  travelling  around  the  sun 
within  the  orbit  of  our  earth."  After  a  short  account  of  the  spec- 
troscope and  its  use  in  analyzing  substances  especially  those  reflect- 
ing light  or  luminous  in  themselves,  he  says  :  "  Recently,  however, 
zodiacal  light  has  been  analyzed  by  Angstrom,  with  a  result  alto- 
gether unexpected,  and  at  present  almost  unintelligible.  Its  spec- 
trum exhibits  a  bright  line,  and  this  bright  lifte  is  the  sa?ne  that  is 
seen  in  the  spectnun  of  the  atwora  borealisP^ 

Furthermore  :  "  Of  all  the  phenomena  presented  to  the  contem- 


106  TAILS  OF  COMETS. 


plation  of  astronomers,  the  tails  of  comets  are  undoubtedly  the 
most  perplexing.  Now  there  is  one  feature  of  comets'  tails  that 
has  long  since  attracted  attention,  and  will  remind  the  reader  of  the 
peculiarities  common  to  the  zodiacal  and  the  auroral  light.  We  re- 
fer to  the  sudden  changes  of  brilliancy,  and  the  instantaneous 
lengthening  and  shortening  of  these  appendages.  And  the  emi- 
inent  mathematician  Euler  was  led  by  the  observation  of  similar  ap- 
pearances to  put  forward  the  theory  '  That  there  is  a  great  affinity 
between  these  tails,  the  zodiacal  light,  and  the  aurora  borealis.^ 
It  is  far  from  being  unlikely  that  these  long  vexed  questions — the 
nature  of  the  aurora,  that  of  the  zodiacal  light,  and  that  of  comets' 
tails — will  receive  their  solution  simultaneously;"  and  he  further 
adds  :  "  I  had  scarcely  completed  the  above  pages  when  news  was 
brought  from  America  that  the  spectrum  of  the  sun's  corona,  as 
seen  during  the  recent  total  solar  edipse,  exhibited  the  same  bright 
lines  as  the  aurora.  Lastly,  it  has  been  found  that  the  peculiar 
phosphorescent  light,  sometimes  visible  all  over  the  sky  at  night, 
gives  the  same  spectrum  (very  faint  of  course)  as  the  aurora  and 
the  zodiacal  light.  What  we  learn  certainly,  therefore,  from  the 
facts  above  stated,  is  this  —  that  substances  of  the  same  sort  emit 
the  light  of  the  aurora,  of  the  zodiacal  gleam,  the  tails  of  comets, 
of  the  sun's  corona,  and  of  the  phosphorescence  which  illuminates 
at  times  the  nocturnal  skies.  But  when  once  we  have  reason  — 
as  in  the  case  of  the  aurora  we  undoubtedly  have  —  to  associate 
electricity  with  any  particular  form  of  luminosity,  we  seem  clearly 
justified  in  extending  the  explanation  to  the  same  form  of  lu- 
minosity wherever  it  may  appear." 

Although  I  have  already  taxed  your  patience  with  long  quotations 
of  such  a  strictly  scientific  character,  I  cannot  conclude  them 
without  giving  Prof.  Proctor's  own  deductions  from  this  series  of 
arranged  facts.     He  says  : — 

"  I  believe  that  the  key  to  the  whole  series  of  phenomena  dealt 
with  above  lies  in  the  existence  of  myriads  of  meteoric  bodies 
travelling  separately  or  in  systems  around  the  sun.  They  are 
consumed    in  thousands   daily  by  our   own    atmosphere.      They 


LITTLE  AUK  OR  SEA  DOVE.  107 


probably  pour  in  countless  millions  upon  the  solar  atmosphere,  and 
from  what  we  know  of  their  numbers  in  our  own  neighborhood,  and 
of  the  probability  of  their  being  infinitely  more  numerous  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  sun,  we  have  excellent  reasons  for  believing 
that  to  them,  principally,  is  due  the  appearance  of  the  zodiacal 
light  and  the  solar  corona." 

I  have  occupied  much  more  time  in  the  discussion  of  this  most 
interesting  and  highly  instructive  theme  than  I  had  intended,  but, 
as  you  can  see,  the  phenomena  dealt  with  could  not  have  been  ex- 
plained with  less.  We  will  now  pass  on  to  some  of  the  less  sci- 
entifically important,  but  still,  we  will  trust,  interesting  portions  of 
our  diary. 

Just  here  a  short  account  of  one  of  the  characteristic  birds  of 
this  region  may  be  of  interest.  I  refer  to  the  little  auk,  or  sea 
dove  i^Mergulus  alle) ,  so  common  some  years  in  the  waters  about 
the  islands  and  harbors  all  along  the  coast.  From  Oct.  15  th  until 
the  ice  set  in,  I  found  these  little  fellows  common  everywhere  in  the 
waters  of  the  bays  and  harbors,  and  they  were  generally  quite 
tame.  The  people  here  regard  their  arrival  as  a  sign  of  cold 
weather,  but  it  certainly  did  not  prove  to  be  the  case  this  year, 
since  the  birds  were  unusually  abundant  and  the  year  an  unusually 
mild  one.  The  popular  and  local  name  is  Bonne  hovime  (the 
French  for  good  fellow)  and  is  pronounced  as  if  spelled  Bun- 
num.  It  associates  with  the  black  guillemot,  and  possesses  with 
it  many  habits  in  common.  It  dives  at  the  flash  of  the  gun,  swims 
long  distances  under  the  water,  but  is  generally  very  tame  and  quite 
easy  to  approach  though  quick  in  its  movements.  I  have  seen 
them  killed  with  an  oar  after  a  long  chase  in  a  boat.  When 
first  taking  flight  they  half  fly  and  half  push  themselves  along  the 
surface  of  the  water,  since  their  small  wings  make  it  very  difficult 
for  them  to  fly  freely.  I  have  seen  one  pursued  in  a  boat  by  a 
number  of  men  who  amused  themselves  by  throwing  the  oars 
and  pieces  of  wood,  together  with  the  ballast  of  the  boat 
at  it,  not  a  single  missile  hitting  its  mark,  since  the  bird  was  able  to 
dodge  each  article  thrown  at  it  by  diving  and  appearing  in  a  most 


108  WRECKS,  WESTERN  ARM  OF  BAY. 

contrary  direction  from  that  looked  for ;  to  the  surprise  of  all  the 
bird  at  last  escaped  without  so  much  as  a  single  wound.  I  have 
noticed  nearly  all  the  changes  of  plumage  in  this  bird  that  I  have 
seen  in  the  pigeon  during  the  first  year,  though  the  head,  so  far  as 
I  have  seen,  is  always  black.  It  is  a  familiar  little  fellow,  and  sel- 
dom killed,  unless  scarcity  of  food  demands  it. 

Thursday  the  4th.  Some  of  the  men  started  off  early  this  morn- 
ing hunting  for  logs  or  pieces  of  wood  from  what  appears  to  be  a 
wreck.  The  lookout  in  these  regions  for  wrecks  is  at  all  times 
sharp  and  continued.  It  not  unfrequently  happens  that  a  barque  or 
brig,  and  in  one  or  two  cases  a  steamer,  going  from  Quebec  or 
Montreal  to  Newfoundland  or  Liverpool,  is  lost  or  led  astray  by 
the  fog  and  wrecked  on  some  of  the  many  treacherous  rocks  on  this 
part  of  the  coast.  Only  yesterday  one  of  the  men  returned  with  a 
large  piece  of  the  bulwarks  of  some  ship  that  had  been  evidently  cast 
away.  It  looked  quite  fresh,  and  hearing  in  addition  that  one  of 
the  owners  of  a  large  establishment  here  had  sent  in  a  hurry  for 
several  men  to  help  him  do  some  work  the  nature  of  which  he 
was  shrewd  enough  to  withhold,  we  fairly  concluded  that  there  must 
be  a  wreck  somewhere  near.  While  they  were  away  investigating 
the  matter  I  took  my  gun  and  started  off,  proposing  to  climb  the 
ridge  on  the  western  arm  of  the  bay  and  see  what  results  might  be 
obtained  in  that  quarter. 

I  first  ascended  the  hill  at  the  foot  of  the  bay.  The  path  was  an 
old  Indian  foot  path,  and  most  of  the  way  ascended  almost  per- 
pendicularly. I  reached  a  level  after  much  trouble,  and  found 
that  the  needle  of  my  barometer  registered  three  hundred  feet 
above  the  sea's  level.  I  then  went  carefully  all  over  the  top  of  the 
height,  and  was  much  interested  in  finding  the  singular  features 
presented.  The  elevation  seemed  to  be  a  plateau  three  to 
five  hundred  feet  high,  with  several  crests  arising  from  seventy-five 
to  one  hundred  feet  higher,  but  with  a  general  level  at  the  distance 
given  above.  There  were  several  small  ponds,  much  mucky 
ground,  and  several  patches  of  what  we  should  call,  on  the  sea- 
shore, mud  flats.     Deep  ravines  were  plentiful,  and  several  times  I 


DEER  TRACKS.  109 


found  myself  suddenly  and  without  premonition  within  a  few  feet 
of  a  perpendicular  wall  of  rock, — in  fact  once  a  regular  precipice 
reaching  several  hundred  feet  below  and  nearly  to  the  sea  level. 
The  whole  ridge  is  divided  by  a  deep  gully  through  which  a  large 
stream  flows  from  a  chain  of  ponds,  the  first  of  which  could  be 
barely  seen  in  the  distance,  and  which  is  full  of  trout,  the  inhabi- 
tants tell  me.  Between  the  shore  and  the  southwest  side  of  this 
stream  the  ridges  continue  but  they  are  cut  up  with  more  gorges 
than  the  northeastern  portion.  I  found  no  less  than  three  deep 
clefts,  starting  from  near  a  common  centre  and  running  in  contrary 
directions  down  to  the  sea.  Beyond  is  a  deep  cliff,  and  several  small 
gullies,  running  into  a  large  open  place  that  must  have  reached 
nearly  to  the  sea  level,  which  presented  an  almost  impassable  bar- 
rier to  the  coast  line.  After  a  long  detour  I  at  length  reached  the 
beach,  or  rather  the  place  where  there  might  have  been  a  beach,  and 
found  nothing  but  rock  close  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  with  no  sign 
of  a  footing  anywhere.  I  clambered  over  the  rocks  for  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  and  found  a  perpendicular  face  of  rock  that 
must  be  climbed  or  return  must  be  made  as  I  had  come.  De- 
termined not  to  return  I  with  difficulty  climbed  over  one  hundred 
feet  of  this  precipice,  when  I  am  confident  that  a  single  false  step 
would  have  sent  me  to  the  rocks  at  the  bottom,  and  thence  around 
the  edge  of  the  face  of  the  rock.  I  had  but  about  two  miles  to 
go  to  reach  home,  but  three  times  I  was  obliged  to  climb  steep 
heights  from  near  the  sea  level  to  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
above  (where  often  the  undergrowth  of  thick  and  tangled  spruce 
alone  would  have  made  the  ascent  quite  difficult)  and  three  times 
descend  again.  It  was  half  tide  and  I  could  not  walk  around  as  it 
is  possible  to  do  at  dead  low  tide.  The  top  level  of  the  hills  above 
was  protected  by  overhanging  ledges  so  that  I  could  not  ascend 
them ;  thus  I  was  obliged  to  pursue  a  winding  course  over  the 
outstanding  ridges  of  the  rocks  to  the  eastern  face  of  the  cliff. 
It  took  full  five  hours  for  me  to  accomplish  the  distance  home, 
short  as  it  was. 

Friday  the  5  th.     This  morning  I  saw  the  tracks  of  a  small  herd 
of  deer  that   had   passed  during    the   night.     They  were  plainly 


no  EVIDENCES  OF  A  WRECK. 

visible  for  a  long  distance  on  the  thick,  spongy  moss  which  every- 
where carpets  the  ridge  just  back  of  the  house.  Towards  evening 
the  men  returned  bringing  the  looked-for  news — not  that  we  wished 
a  vessel  to  be  wrecked  for  our  special  benefit,  but  should  there  be 
one  we  desired  to  know  of  it  and  see  it  if  possible, — there  had 
been  a  large  brig  wrecked  on  her  passage  from  Montreal  to  England 
laden  with  lumber.  The  men  reported  the  harbors  and  coves 
everywhere  along  the  shores  as  full  of  logs  and  deal  boards.  The 
crew,  it  appears,  were  saved,  but  the  vessel  was  a  total  wreck.  As 
a  short  account  of  this  wreck  may  be  of  interest  I  append  the 
facts  as,  being  present,  I  was  able  to  obtain  them. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  November  30,  that  the  boat  and 
men  returned  from  a  short  sail  up  the  bay,  where  they  had  been 
to  visit  some  traps  that  had  been  set  there,  bringing  with  them 
news  that  a  large  piece  of  the  bulwark  of  a  vessel  was  lying  above 
high  tide  on  one  of  the  islands,  and  that  to  all  appearances  there 
had  been  a  vessel  wrecked  during  the  preceding  stormy  weather. 
I  think  that  it  was  later  in  the  same  day  we  heard  that  a  gang  of 
men  had  been  sent  for  in  a  great  hurry  by  one  of  the  chief  men 
on  the  coast,  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  doing  some  work  on  the 
framework  of  a  building  that  he  had  for  some  time  proposed  con- 
structing ;  putting  together  these  two  circumstances  it  seemed  safe 
to  conclude  that  something  unusual  had  occurred,  and  it  also 
seemed  equally  safe  to  suppose  that  that  something  was  a  ship- 
wreck. 

In  such  a  locality  as  this,  remote  from  habitation,  the  struggle 
for  life  is  by  no  means  easy ;  and  at  such  a  season  as  this,  when 
time  hangs  heavy,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  news  and 
this  probable  interpretation  of  it  spread  like  fire,  and  everybody 
was  awake  to  be  off  and  see  what  was  to  be  seen,  or  find  what  was 
to  be  found.  The  people  about  could  hardly  wait  until  the  next 
morning  before  starting  off  in  their  boats,  and  it  was  yet  early,  in 
fact  before  daylight,  that  a  party  from  the  house,  with  a  small  sack 
of  provisions,  in  case  they  should  be  obliged  to  stay  away  over 
night,  started  in  search  of  the  supposed  wreck.  Those  of  us  who  re- 
remained  at  home  of  course  did  our  best  at  speculating  as  to  the 


SEARCHING  FOR  WRECK.  Ill 

results  of  the  search,  but  it  was  not  until  the  next  day  that  we  learned 
the  truth.  Meanwhile,  several  parties,  also  much  excited  over  the 
news,  called  upon  us  in  the  evening,  they  also  eager  to  be  off.  We 
fed  and  housed  them  for  the  night,  and  with  them  indulged  in  all 
kinds  of  speculations  as  to  the  probabilities  and  possibilities  of  the 
case.  As  yet  none  of  us  knew  the  real  state  of  affairs  outside,  but 
that  there  must  have  been  a  shipwreck,  no  one  seemed  to  deny. 
Then  came  the  questions  :  Where  was  it  ?  How  was  it  ?  When 
was  it? 

As  each  of  these  questions  was  discussed  separately  by  all  parties 
present,  it  was  some  time  before  they  were  disposed  of;  when  they 
were,  we  varied  the  conversation  with  queries  as  to  the  size  of  the  ship 
and  nature  of  her  cargo.  Of  course  all  united  in  the  hope  that  she 
might  be  a  large  vessel,  and  laden  with  provisions,  as  that  is  the 
thing  most  needed  here ;  but  we  could  hardly  hope  that  the  real- 
ity would  equal  our  hopes  and  expectations,  and  it  was  finally  agreed 
that  should  the  cargo  of  the  supposed  ship,  that  we  felt  sure  had 
been  wrecked,  prove  to  be  lumber,  we  should  be  equally  satisfied. 

The  party  that  had  just  gone  from  the  house  proposed  staying  over 
night  at  a  neighboring  island,  and  to  proceed  along  the  coast  of  the 
various  islands  and  mainland  the  next  morning  hoping  to  make 
discoveries  ;  the  party  that  had  just  arrived,  too  late  to  accompany 
the  first,  seemed  unsettled  as  to  what  to  do.  In  fact  they  were  so 
wrought  with  excitement  that  they  seemed  ready  for  almost  any- 
thing. Although  it  was  already  night  when  they  arrived,  some 
proposed  rowing  at  once  to  the  island,  where  the  first  party  had 
gone,  a  distance  of  four  miles,  at  least,  and  with  them,  starting 
off  the  next  morning.  We  easily  dissuaded  them,  from  such 
an  attempt,  however,  and  talking  over  the  outlook  of  the  case 
we  passed  away  the  time  until  slumber  called  us  all  to  its  em- 
brace. The  next  morning  we  waited  patiently  for  our  party  to 
return  (as  our  friends  of  last  night  had  left  early)  and  reheve  our 
suspense,  for  we  too  shared  a  feeling  of  anxiety  as  to  the  result ; 
but  it  was  afternoon  before  the  boat  returned,  and  not  until  then 
that  our  desires  were  at  least  partially  gratified.    The  relics  brought 


112  CRUISING. 


home  in  the  boat  gave  us  no  longer  any  room  to  doubt  that  there 
had  been  a  tolerably  good  sized  wreck  somewhere.  There  were 
iron  and  copper  bolts,  hinges,  bits  of  rope,  a  bed  sacking,  a  box  of 
books,  a  long  pipe,  a  blacking  brush,  and  any  amount  of  small  ma- 
terial that  had  been  picked  up  around  the  shores  of  the  islands,  but 
what  presented  the  most  substantial  evidence  of  the  disaster  was  a 
genuine  barrel  of  flour,  superfine  extra.  The  men  were  full  of  news. 
The  islands  swarmed  with  deal  boards  and  logs  everywhere.  Oak 
and  pine  lay  about  in  confusion.  Here  was  then  at  least  an  an- 
swer to  one  of  our  questions.  There  had  been  a  shipwreck  to  the 
westward  ;  how  far  as  yet  we  did  not  know,  and  the  lumber,  of  which 
the  cargo  must  have  been  largely  if  not  wholly  composed,  lay 
around  us,  and  could  be  had  not  for  the  asking,  but  for  the  pick- 
ing up. 

The  boat  soon  unloaded,  and  the  men  provided  with  their  din- 
ners ;  we  then  began  to  look  about  us,  and  prepare  for  another 
cruise,  to  find  out,  if  possible,  where  the  wreck  was.  We  were  soon 
ready,  and  getting  into  the  boat  started  on  our  expedition.  Know- 
ing that  the  wreck  was  to  the  west,  as  the  drift  of  the  logs  and  deal 
was  from  that  direction,  we  made  up  our  minds  to  stop  that  night  (as 
it  was  nearly  night  when  we  started  off)  at  the  house  of  a  neighbor, 
about  four  miles  up  the  coast.  It  was  now  nearly  dark,  the  wind 
had  gone  down,  and,  much  against  our  wills,  we  were  compelled  to 
take  down  sail  and  row.  Three  stout  fellows  at  the  oars,  however 
much  the  swell  might  take  the  boat,  were  more  than  a  match  for 
the  waves,  and  she  spun  along  at  least  seemingly  fast,  until  we  had 
rounded  the  corner  of  the  bay,  and  come  into  still  rougher  waters. 

We  passed  one  or  two  boats,  and  thought  little  of  it  at  the  time ; 
we  afterwards  found  that  they  were  on  the  same  errand  as  ourselves. 
After  a  couple  of  hours  of  hard  struggling  at  the  oars,  we  came  in 
sight  of  a  glimmer  of  light  down  the  bay  or  deep  cove  past  the 
headland  that  had  just  been  rounded  ;  soon  it  became  brighter,  and 
we  passed  into  the  more  quiet  waters  within  the  bay,  and  rapidly 
approached  the  beacon  and  its  well  known  shelter.  It  was  quite 
dark  when  we  moored  our  boat  alongside  of  the  rocks.   We  saw  to 


SCENE  AT  DUSK. 


our  surprise,  in  the  same  shelter,  and  within  a  stone  VtKrowtforn 
us,  the  boats  of  nearly  all  the  people  on  the  coast,  for  a  dozen  miles 
eastward.  It  seemed  that  other  people  had  come  in  search  of  the 
wreck  as  well  as  ourselves,  and  showed  us  strangers  the  rapidity 
with  which  news  travels  even  on  this  coast,  where  the  houses  are 
four,  six,  or  ten  miles  apart.  Surprised  as  we  were,  we  finished 
mooring,  and  started  towards  the  house.  The  scene  that  burst 
upon  us  reminded  one  strongly  of  some  fanciful  legend  of  pirates 
or  sea-robbers.  Here  the  dark  outline  of  the  house,  back  of  which 
tall  cliffs  frowned  out  a  gloomy  reception,  was  lighted  up  by  a  fire 
on  the  rocks  to  the  right  of  the  doorway,  around  which  was 
assembled  a  group  of  men  who  went  and  came  in  and  out  of 
the  darkness  beyond  the  flames.  A  crane  hung  over  the  fire  and 
kettles  were  suspended  a  little  above  the  flames  containing  the 
tea  of  the  several  parties  who  formed  the  group ;  to  the  left  of  the 
house  a  wide  expanse  of  darkness  wrapped  the  cliffs,  the  water, 
and  the  ground  in  one  sea  of  dusk.  Approaching  the  house,  the 
scene  presented  a  livelier  aspect  and  we  were  better  able  to  see 
about  us.  The  house  of  our  friend  had  been  literally  taken 
possession  of.  Later  in  the  evening  when  more  boats  had  arrived, 
we  counted  twenty-four  persons  who  had  thus  invaded  this  retreat, 
and  established  themselves  until  morning. 

You  may  imagine  the  confusion  of  twenty  good  voices  in  loud 
conversation  (loud  talking  seems  to  be  the  rule  with  the  people 
on  the  coast)  over  the  prospects ;  add  to  this  the  excitement 
which  prevailed  on  every  hand,  and  the  bustle  over  the  dishes,  as 
party  after  party  (each  of  whom,  by  the  way,  brought  their  own 
provisions)  sat  down  or  rose  up  from  table,  and  you  have  the 
scene  complete,  —  no,  not  complete,  for  the  room  was  none  too 
warm,  it  being  a  cold  night  out  and  the  atmosphere  breathed  and 
felt  of  tobacco  smoke  so  forcibly,  that  one  could  "  cut  it,"  a§  the  ex- 
pression is. 

After  a  great  deal  of  talking  and  listening  at  the  time,  with  what 
was  learned  afterwards,  I  have  prepared  with  a  great  deal  of  care 
the  following  story  of  the  wreck  ;  — = 
S 


lU  WRECK  OF  THE  EDWARD  CARDWELL. 

The  Edward  Cardwell,  a  full  rigged  barquentine,  bound  from 
Quebec,  P.  Q.,  to  Liverpool,  England,  after  several  days  out  (how 
many  we  did  not  learn),  encountered  dense  fogs  off  the  banks,  and 
for  about  three  days  had  been  sailing  in  this  uncertainty,  feeling  her 
way  slowly  along,  the  officers  not  knowing  where  they  were  going, 
but  supposing  themselves  somewhere  near  the  Newfoundland 
shores.  At  one  time  the  fog  lifted  for  a  few  moments,  and  then 
the  white  beacon  of  Whale  island  met  their  view,  but  the  immediate 
shutting  down  of  a  still  denser  fog  left  them  again  in  the  uncertain 
condition  in  which  they  had  been  before.  Steering  as  near  as 
possible  in  the  direction  of  the  beacon,  it  was  not  until  rocks 
suddenly  loomed  up  near  by  that  the  pilot  found  himself  at  the 
entrance  of  a  narrow  pass  near  a  rocky  shoal  with  the  mainland 
some  half  a  mile  on  the  left.  The  ship  was  under  too  much 
headway,  though  it  was  moving  but  slowly  at  best,  to  stop  or  back 
out  of  her  perilous  position.  The  pilot  headed  her  straight  for  the 
opening,  and  called  to  all  hands  to  prepare  themselves  for  the  shock. 
One  young  man  sprang  to  the  cabin  door  and  called  to  the  captain, 
who  not  havmg  time  even  to  take  up  his  watch,  which  was  lost, 
rushed  on  deck  only  just  in  time  to  secure  a  place  in  the  boat, 
which  the  frantic  men  had  lowered,  and  were  about  severing  from 
its  fastenings  to  the  ship.  The  ship  struck  and  went  to  pieces  in 
a  few  hours  afterwards  ;  the  crew,  nineteen  men,  were  just  saved, 
but  having  lost  all.  The  men  rowed  to  the  neighboring  shore,  and 
finding  the  empty  summer  house  of  a  Mr.  Belvin,  one  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  coast,  they  broke  in  the  door  and  made  a  fire, 
remaining  there  that  night.  In  the  morning  they  took  one  of  Mr. 
Belvin's  boats,  as  their  own  had  been  destroyed,  and  rowed  along 
the  coast  and  islands  until  they  reached  the  abode  of  Mr.  ^^'.  H. 
Whiteley,  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  wreck,  where  they  tarried 
until  they  were  soon  after  carried  to  Greeley  island  lighthouse, 
from  which  place  they  were  taken  to  the  Newfoundland  coast, 
and  thus  reached  some  port  from  which  they  took  passage  home. 
Mr.  Whiteley,  the  Magistrate  of  the  coast,  agrees  substantially 
with  my  statement.     The  ship  went  to  pieces  soon  after  it  struck. 


EVENING  AT  THE  COTTAGE  115 

and  the  next  morning  (Tuesday)  logs,  deals,  and  rubbish  of  all 
sorts  were  to  be  found  everywhere  on  the  mainland  and  islands  to 
the  eastward.  The  vessel  contained  few  provisions,  but  these 
were  mostly  lost  in  deep  water.  The  rocks  where  she  struck  are 
called  on  the  chart  the  Porpoise  rocks,  and  the  water  about  the 
shoal  varies  from  nine  to  thirteen,  and  even  thirty  fathoms ;  the 
distance  to  the  mainland  is  about  a  mile,  and  from  the  opposite 
coast  of  Newfoundland  some  thirty  miles. 

Let  us  now  return  to  the  cottage  and  see  what  is  going  on  there. 
The  evening  wears  slowly  away,  the  men  enjoy  themselves  and 
pass  their  time  in  smoking  and  talking.  Some  are  jovial  and  hearty 
in  their  manner,  while  others,  quite  the  reverse,  are  gloomy  and 
morose.  It  is  easy  to  see  who  are  friendly  and  who  avoid  each 
other,  for  the  men  cluster  together  and  engage  in  low  or  loud  con- 
versation as  the  subject  of  which  they  talk  be  private  or  public, 
while  others  sit  in  the  corners,  on  the  floor,  or  in  chairs  resting 
their  heads  upon  their  hands,  or,  leaning  against  the  wall,  are  far  in 
the  land  of  slumbers.  One  man  stands  warming  himself  with  his 
hands  behind  him,  and  his  face  away  from  the  stove  facing  the 
crowd,  while  another  perhaps  will  be  talking  loudly  and  boisterously, 
gesturing  violently  at  the  same  time  as  if  to  impress  the  group 
more  with  a  sense  of  his  own  importance  than  to  give  a  statement 
of  the  real  condition  of  some  important  issue ;  perhaps  this  same 
person  will  soon  change  his  position  to  a  slight  bend  of  the  head 
and  body  as,  with  one  finger  held  up  very  near  to  his  eye,  he  makes 
an  outward  and  downward  gesture,  as  he  delivers  himself  of  some 
whispered  secret  opinion,  at  the  same  time  that,  having  delivered 
his  opinion,  he  straightens  himself  up  with  the  air  of  one  who  has 
relieved  himself  of  a,  to  him,  tremendous  thought. 

In  one  way  or  another  the  time  flies.  One  by  one  the  men 
stretch  themselves  on  the  boxes  and  benches  in  the  corners  ;  tipped 
up  in  the  chairs,  and  on  the  floor  besides  the  fire,  they  doze  off  to 
catch  a  poor  apology  for  sleep  in  these  uncomfortable  positions. 
We  can  only  get  intervals  of  rest  as  somebody  is  constantly  open- 
ing and  shutting  the  door  in  passing  in  and  out ;  this  occasions  so 


116  FINDING  LOGS  AND  DEAL. 

much  noise  and  cold  air  that  soon  even  the  air  from  the  stove 
grows  chilled  and  we  with  it. 

At  length,  after  a  number  of  twistings  and  vain  attempts  to  sleep 
the  earliest  of  this  adventuresome  party  arouse  the  rest  by  their 
preparations  for  early  starting  in  the  shape  of  making  a  fire,  boiling 
the  kettle,  and  preparing  and  eating  an  early  breakfast.  Between 
three  and  four  o'clock  the  first  party  leave,  and  are  followed  by  the 
others  at  intervals  of  different  length,  but  near  enough  to  each 
other  to  prevent  our  going  to  sleep  again,  until  at  daylight  we  are 
about  the  last  to  leave  the  house  with  a  good  warm  breakfast  in 
place  of  a  good  night's  sleep. 

As  most  of  the  other  boats  are  engaged  in  a  similar  expedition 
as  ourselves,  to  follow  us  will  be  to  follow  them.  The  wind  is  against 
us  and  the  waves  are  high,  but  we  start  off  without  much  trouble  and 
row,  head  to  the  wind  and  waves,  out  into  the  passage  and  towards 
the  nearest  island.  The  shore  is  plainly  visible  as  we  row  along, 
and  a  sharp  lookout  soon  discovers  a  log  lying  on  the  beach  and  a 
deal  close  by ;  we  row  to  them  and  have  soon  carried  the  deal 
above  high  water  mark  while  we  note  the  place  for  future  use ; 
beyond  are  several  more  deals,  and  further  on  others ;  soon  we 
come  to  a  cove  full  of  strewn  rubbish  composed  of  bits  of  wood 
and  hay  and  straw,  with  many  sticks  and  broken  boards  while  sev- 
eral large  oak  and  pine  logs  lie,  as  they  have  been  tossed  by  the 
waves,  wedged  in  between  the  stone  and  rocks.  These  logs  are, 
as  are  most  of  those  found,  from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet  in 
width  and  thickness,  and  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  in  length ;  while 
the  deal  are  about  two  inches  thick,  from  ten  to  eighteen  inches 
wide  and  about  twelve  feet  long.  Each  is  of  three  qualities  and 
stamped  with  the  Quebec  market  initials  of  "A.  F.  A.  K."  or  with 
the  word  ''Montmorenci."  With  considerable  difficulty  the  big 
logs  are  pried  over  and  over  until  they  reach  the  water  when  an 
iron  bolt  is  fastened  to  them  and  a  rope  attached  drags  them  out 
into  the  water  where  the  tide,  which  is  on  the  flood,  rises  sufficiently 
to  float  them. 

In  this  way  a  raft  or  rather  tow  is  soon  made  of  four  fine,  pine 


WOOD-CUTTING.  117 


logs  and,  elated  with  our  success  as  wreckers  on  a  small  scale,  we 
start  off  for  home.  In  a  day  or  two  the  deals  were  found  floating 
about  by  hundreds,  and  the  work  of  collecting  them  as  also  of 
marking  and  tying  the  logs  to  identify  them,  continued  all  the  fall 
and  even  into  the  winter.  This  is  the  first  wreck  that  has  occurred 
on  the  coast,  near  here  at  least,  for  over  thirty  years,  I  think,  if 
my  information  is  correct ;  and  though  we  certainly  wish  no  harm 
to  anybody,  we  can  but  rejoice  that  the  misfortune  of  the  ship  will 
be  so  fortunate  for  the  people  of  the  coast. 

Wednesday,  Nov.  loth.  The  men  have  spent  a  greater  part  of 
the  day  cutting  wood.  Those  who  can  obtain  wood  near  by  with- 
out the  necessity  of  going  into  the  interior  up  the  river,  and  rafting 
it  down,  as  many  of  them  do,  content  themselves  with  a  smaller  ar- 
ticle, and  continue  to  make  clearings  in  the  low  spruce  and  fir 
about  their  own  place.  The  majority  of  this  wood  varies  from 
four  to  six  and  even  seven  inches  in  diameter,  while  the  trees  are 
rarely  over  fifteen  feet  in  height.  The  tree  is  cut,  the  branches 
trimmed,  and  the  limbs  thrown  in  a  pile  upon  the  ground ;  the 
trunks  are  then  piled  on  the  sledge  and  drawn  by  the  dogs  to 
the  house.  In  winter  the  men  are  often  obliged  to  go  chopping 
wood  after  a  heavy  fall  of  snow.  It  is  then  a  matter  of  no  pleasure 
to  walk  half  a  mile  or  a  mile  through  the  deep  snow  to  some  cho- 
sen locality,  and  there  remain  cutting  for  many  hours,  while  the 
snow  from  the  branches  falls  down  your  neck,  as  you  stoop  over 
to  chop,  and  the  wet  often  finds  a  hole,  be  it  ever  so  small, 
in  your  boots ;  while,  to  endure  the  cold,  the  thick  clothing 
one  is  obliged  to  wear  renders  such  violent  exercise  anything 
but  comfortable.  When  the  wood  choppers  return  at  night  there 
is  always  a  hot  supper  waiting  for  them,  and  the  roaring  and 
crackling  fire  sends  out  a  genial  heat  that  dries  the  wet  garments 
while  it  comforts  the  spirits  of  the  men. 

Friday,  the  12th.  The  first  snowstorm  of  winter  came  upon 
us  to-day.  It  began  in  the  morning  and  snowed  most  furiously  all 
day ;  by  evening  the  ground  was  covered  to  the  depth  of  nearly  if 


118  LABRADOR  SNOW. 


not  quite  a  foot.  The  snow  here  differs  from  that  of  New  Eng- 
land and  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  in  that  it  is  dry  and  not 
damp.  It  packs  heavily,  and  when  walked  on  generally  gives  out 
that  crisp  sort  of  echo  so  often  observed  in  walking  any\vhere  over 
lightly  packed  drifts.  In  this  climate,  after  our  first  snowstorm, 
winter  is  upon  us,  and  we  can  safely  conclude  that  we  are  shut  in 
from  sunlight  and  society  until  the  next  summer.  A  thin  coat- 
ing of  ice  has  already  formed,  and  we  can  probably  soon  be  able 
to  traverse  the  bays  in  our  sledges.  We  have  fully  started  upon 
our  six  months  of  ice  and  snow. 

Before  I  go  any  further,  let  me  here  stop  for  a  few  moments  and 
review  a  little.  I  have  not  fully  described  to  you  our  quarters 
either  here,  in  our  snug  inland  retreat,  or  those  from  which  we  so 
lately  removed  on  the  outside  island ;  I  will  therefore  try  to  give 
you  a  little  idea  of  how  we  live,  and  in  what  we  live ;  and,  as  most 
of  the  families  possess  similar  establishments,  we  will  try  to  give 
you  the  general  idea  of  a  Labrador  home. 


DWELLING  HOUSES.  119 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


A  Labrador  home  —  Houses  —  Where  erected  —  Stage  —  Shop  —  Stable  — 
The  house  —  Papering  —  Family  —  Occupation  of  its  members  —  Out- 
of-door  life. 


In  describing  a  Labrador  home,  I  shall  be  doing  justice  to 
nearly  all  by  describing  one,  since  all  are  modelled  and  furnished 
on  about  the  same  plan. 

There  are,  of  course,  a  number  of  houses  modelled  after  the 

w 

fashion  of  those  "m  the  States,"  as  the  expression  is  here;  but 
they  are  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule.  The  best  house,  per- 
haps, is  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Whiteley,  the  magis- 
trate of  this  section  of  the  coast,  and  situated  at  Bonne  Esperance, 
a  little  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Esquimaux,  or,  as  it  is  rightly 
named,  St.  Paul's  river.  This  is  a  comfortable  mansion-like  affair, 
and  is  built  like  many  of  the  so-called  house  taverns  so  common 
in  country  places  in  New  England  and  other  states.  Its  white  ex- 
terior shows  for  a  long  distance  up  and  down  the  coast,  on  a  clear 
day,  especially  if  the  sun  be  shining  and  serves  as  a  beacon  to  the 
inhabitant  and  voyager  in  these  parts. 

While  Mr.  W'hiteley's  is  a  palace  beside  the  other  houses,  there 
are  those  that  are  hovels  beside  what  I  am  about  to  describe  as 
characteristic  of  the  larger  and  better  class  of  abodes.  These  hov- 
els, or  rather  huts,  for  huts  they  are  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word, 
are  of  the  rudest  kind.  The  logs,  posts,  and  most  of  the  boards 
are  hewed  out  by  hand  from  trees  growing  a  little  way  in  the  in- 


120  SITUATION  CHOSEN. 

terior,  and  brought  down  on  rafts  by  the  nearest  river;  on  the 
border  of  which  the  hewing  and  trimming,  which  render  them  fit 
for  the  purpose  for  which  they  are  intended^  are  generally  though 
not  always  done  and  in  the  fall  of  the  year. 

The  localities  chosen  for  the  erection  of  house  or  hut  are  gen- 
erally two,  one  for  a  summer  house  in  some  open  situation,  and 
the  other  for  what  is  called  "winter  quarters  ;"  and  as  winter  em- 
braces the  greater  part  of  the  year,  it  is  important  that  this  latter 
shall  be,  as  it  invariably  is,  in  some  sheltered  cove  on  the  mainland 
where,  if  possible,  high  cliffs  protect  it  on  all  sides,  except  from 
the  sea ;  if  such  a  place  is  not  found,  as  sheltered  a  place  as  pos- 
sible is  chosen.  When  the  house  is  a  summer  house  there  are  usu- 
ally cliffs  on  the  north  side,  or  if  not  cliffs  high  rocks,  and  the  ex- 
posure to  the  sea  easterly  or  southerly. 

A  hut  is  of  the  rudest  make.  The  sides  are  of  logs,  the  bot- 
tom and  floor  of  single  boards,  the  roof  of  rough  rafters,  and  the 
top  of  thin  deal  or  clapboards ;  but  a  house  is  of  different  con- 
struction. 

I  shall  not  stop  here  to  describe  Old  Fort  island,  as  I  shall 
do  so  further  on.  I  will  simply  say  that  it  is  the  largest  of  the 
neighboring  islands, —  except  the  one  called  Esquimaux  island, 
— and  is  about  four  miles  from  the  mainland.  The  owners,  or 
rather  the  dwellers  thereon,  regard  this  as  simply  their  summer 
abode,  while  the  winter  house,  is  located  on  the  mainland.  The 
name  Old  Fort  is  historical ;  it  being  so  called  in  memory  of  old 
times  in  connection  with  the  French  and  Indian  wars. 

The  relation  between  the  mainland  and  the  island,  as  is  seen  by 
their  names,  is  very  close  ;  and  this  little  family  of  settlers  have 
taken  possession  of  both  places,  which  they  have  held  for  many 
years,  and  set  up  their  abodes  thereon ;  the  winter  house  being 
at  the  elbow  of  the  bend  in  Old  Fort  bay. 

The  house  on  the  island  is  placed  about  forty  rods  from  the  wa- 
ter on  the  east,  on  a  small  bank  of  rising  ground  about  ten  or 
twelve  feet  above  the  sea  level  at  high  tide.  The  whole  island  is 
low  anywhere,  yet  the  plain  here  happens  to  be  smooth  and  well 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  STAGE.  121 

covered  with  grass  and  vegetation.  On  the  southern  side  the  land 
slopes  down  regularly  to  the  sea,  and  an  elliptical  shaped  beach 
of  rock  and  sand,  visible  only  at  low  tide,  separates  the  land  from 
the  water,  in  this  direction.  On  the  west  is  a  series  of  low, 
rocky  elevations ;  in  the  north,  another  series  of  much  higher 
knolls  is  terminated  abruptly  by  the  water.  In  the  centre  of  this 
little  plot  of  ground,  comprising  about  one  one-hundredth  of  the 
whole  island,  the  house  is  situated. 

I  say  the  house  is  situated,  but  it  would  be  better  to  say  the 
houses  are  situated ;  for  there  are  generally  several  buildings  con- 
nected with  a  well  conducted  fishing  post,  or  summer  residence. 
I  will  give  a  brief  description  of  them  : — 

The  stage  consists  of  a  platform  some  sixty  or  seventy  feet  long 
(according  to  the  necessary  distance),  and  built  from  the  beach  into 
the  sea — generally  so  that  the  farther  end  will  always  be  some  feet 
above  the  water  even  at  the  highest  tide — and  about  sixteen  feet 
wide.  It  is  built  on  posts  or  poles  which  raise  it  some  six  or  eight 
feet  above  the  ground,  and  covered  with  boards.  The  regular 
fishing  boats  are  generally  moored  only  a  short  distance  from 
the  wharf  or  stage  in  deep  water,  while  several  small  boats  are  fas- 
tened to  the  stage  by  means  of  which  the  men  get  from  the  wharf 
to  their  boats  and  back.  The  inner  half  of  the  stage  is  called  the 
house,  and  is  covered  over  with  a  sloping  roof  and  board  sides. 
It  encloses  bins  for  salt  and  fish,  barrels  for  either  or  both, 
and  the  general  necessary  things  contained  in  such  places.  This 
house  has  usually  a  loft  for  the  storage  of  nets,  or  anything  not 
needed  for  immediate  use  but  which  are  too  good  to  be  thrown 
away.  A  simple  board  walk  leads  to  the  front  door,  while  the  back 
partition,  generally  open  to  the  stage  beyond,  completes  the  fishing 
house  and  stage,  where  cod  are  split  and  cured,  salmon  and  trout 
salted,  mackerel  cured,  and  where  all  kinds  of  fish  are  prepared 
and  preserved.  One  curious  fact  may  be  mentioned  :  that  the 
primitive  way  of  fastening  doors  exists  here  almost  everywhere 
in  spite  of  the  cheapness  of  door  fastenings  as  purchased  of  the 
traders ;  the  whole  contrivance  is  made  of  wood,  and  the  door  is 


122  INTERIOR  OF  SHOP. 


opened  or  shut  from  the  outside  by  a  cord  which  passes  through  it 
by  means  of  a  small  hole,  the  inside  end  being  fastened  to  the  latch, 
and  the  other  to  the  door  by  another  hole  and  a  knot  in  the  string. 
This  makes  a  loop  upon  the  inside  which  answers  for  the  handle. 
The  doors  of  all  the  houses,  barns,  stages,  and  shops  are  similarly 
fastened. 

Next  to  "the  stage"  comes  "the  shop."  This  is  another  small 
house  with  single  room  and  a  high  loft,  and  is  situated  not  far 
from  the  house  and  the  stage.  It  is  built  low,  the  foundation 
resting  either  on  or  near  the  ground.  Its  size  is  between  that  of 
the  stage  and  the  house  proper.  In  it  are  kept  the  extra  stores  ;  the 
flour,  potatoes,  turnips,  salt  pork  or  beef,  butter,  tea  chest,  and 
other  articles  not  in  ordinary  use  in  the  house.  In  one  corner 
is  a  tool  bench,  on  a  shelf  above  are  numerous  cans  with  remnants 
of  paint  for  painting  boats  and  perhaps  the  kitchen  floor ;  above 
this,  on  a  series  of  nails,  hang  saws,  shaves,  planes,  old  iron  hoops, 
and  all  sorts  of  articles  usable  and  unusable  that  can  hang  up, 
while  the  bench  beneath  is  cluttered  up  with  a  little  of  anything 
and  everything  that  you  can  imagine.  In  the  opposite  corner  the 
scythe  and  hoe  lean  against  the  wall,  while  a  little  way  from  them  a 
very  small,  coarse  grindstone,  mounted  on  a  carriage  that  threatens 
to  fall  to  pieces  every  time  that  it  is  touched,  leans  rather  than 
stands.  On  the  wall,  over  against  the  stone,  a  small  window  frame 
is  nailed  on  the  inside  of  a  square  opening ;  it  often  contains  but 
three  whole  panes  and  a  broken  fourth,  the  hole  filled  with  an  old 
felt  hat.  By  this,  aided  by  the  additional  light  of  the  open  door, 
barely  light  enough  enters  to  enable  one  to  see  where  to  get  or  put 
away  anything,  which  is  generally  anywhere.  This  shop  door 
looks  as  if  a  part  of  the  partition  had  been  cut  off,  at  the 
farther  end  and  on  the  same  side  as  the  window,  and  a  couple 
of  cleats  nailed  crosswise,  one  above  the  other,  to  hold  the 
boards  together ;  the  whole  affair  having  very  poor,  jagged  hinges 
on  one  side,  so  that  the  door  opens  and  shuts  very  hard  and 
squeaks  proportionally,  and  a  latch  on  the  other. 

On  the  floor,  just  between  the  door  and  window,  lies  the  koma- 


STABLE  AND  HOUSE.  123 


tik  or  dog  sledge  ;  just  above  hang  the  dog  harnesses  ;  and  next  to 
them  the  rackets,  or  snow  shoes,  by  means  of  which  the  men,  and 
sometimes  the  women  and  children,  with  a  little  practice,  walk 
easily  and  quickly  over  the  light  and  often  very  deep  new  fallen 
snow.  In  the  only  remaining  corner  stands  a  heap  of  rubbish 
which  extends  underneath  the  bench  nearly  to  the  other  side  of 
the  room.  It  is  composed  of  every  namable  thing  that  you  can 
imagine  :  scraps  of  leather,  old  shoes  and  boots ;  pieces  of  wood, 
long  and  short,  thick  and  thin,  picked  out  for  special  purposes ; 
old  iron  bolts,  hinges,  spikes,  and  rings  ;  old  pans  and  paint  dishes  ; 
pieces  of  rope  of  various  sizes  and  thicknesses,  cork  bobs  for  fish 
nets  and  wooden  blocks  for  the  same  purpose,  with  an  occasional 
"snatch-block,"  as  the  sailors  call  it, —  being  an  oval  piece  of  wood 
hollowed  out  with  a  wheel  inside  such  as  is  used  for  hoisting  articles 
by  rope, —  and  in  fact  a  large  assortment  of  general  rubbish  beside. 

At  a  short  distance  from  the  shop  stands  the  stable,  if  the 
family  keep  a  cow,  a  goat,  or  any  other  animal  requiring  a  building 
of  this  kind.  This  is  the  simplest  sort  of  a  shed  or  barn, —  with  a 
top  hay  loft,  and  a  few  plain  partitions  which  ser\'e  the  animals  as 
stalls, — while  even  a  manger  is  wanting,  and  the  food  is  given  to 
them  upon  the  floor  of  the  upper  end  of  the  stall.  Many  families 
do  not  keep  such  animals,  not  being  able  to  afford  them ;  then  the 
stable  is  of  course  useless  and  unnecessary. 

Passing  now  direcdy  to  the  house  —  only  noticing  several  boats 
lying  upon  the  sand  or  on  the  bank  above  the  beach,  at  the  right  of 
the  stage,  and  the  ever  present  pile  of  wood,  partly  cut  and  partly 
in  long  rugged  pieces,  with  the  fish  flakes,  which  will  be  spoken  of 
in  connection  with  the  fishing  business  —  we  will  try  to  describe  it. 

The  house  is,  of  course,  a  primitive  affair,  and  perhaps  Httle 
better  than  the  abodes  which  our  forefathers  were  accustomed, 
after  a  while,  to  erect  upon  "the  rude  and  rugged  shores"  of  some 
seacoast  town  of  our  own  New  England  or  Atlantic  states.  It  gener- 
ally faces  the  south, —  that  is,  the  door  and  longest  side  do,  and  is 
about  one-third  longer  than  wide.  It  is  built  with  one  full  story  down- 
stairs, and  an  attic  beneath  the  sloping  roof;  a  partition  running 


124  INTERIOR  OF  HOUSE. 

from  floor  to  roof  divides  both  stories  into  two  rooms  each,  the 
largest  of  which  is  about  square,  and  the  smallest  one  half  the 
size  of  the  large  one.  Windows  are  few  and  far  between ;  the 
upper  story  usually  with  one  at  each  end  or  with  none  at  all  as 
the  case  maybe, — which  case  is  usually  governed  by  the  money  or 
time  at  the  disposal  of  the  builder  at  the  time  of  building — and 
are  always  with  the  smallest  kind  of  glasses  and  sashes  possible  to 
admit  any  light ;  the  lower  story  usually  has  from  two  to  four  on 
its  sides,  rarely  any  on  its  ends.  The  doors  are  usually  three  in 
number,  one  upstairs  and  one  downstairs  in  the  partitions  (these 
are  more  often  doorless  openings),  and  the  outside  one  of  all; 
they  all  resemble  that  of  the  store  house  before  mentioned,  at 
least  in  one  sure  respect  if  in  no  other,  namely,  that  they  press 
with  difficulty  upon  the  hinges  and  squeak  horribly  when  the 
process  of  opening  and  shutting,  which  happens  so  many  times 
in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours,  occurs.  The  upper  story  is 
reached  from  below  by  a  narrow  pair  of  stairs,  or  a  ladder,  leading 
through  an  opening  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  it  is  safe  to  say 
three  feet  square  or  even  less,  and  it  requires  a  good  deal  of 
practice  to  perfect  one's  self  in  the  art  of  ascending  and  descending 
safely.  In  the  construction  of  the  house  the  building  materials 
used  everywhere  are  rude  or  good  as  the  tenant  can  afford ;  the 
outside  is  clapboarded  or  shingled,  and  there  is  no  cellar,  except  a 
rough  hole  scooped  out  underground  and  lined  with  hay  and  coarse 
grass,  and  boughs  perhaps ;  with  a  cover  cut  from  the  bottom  of 
the  floor.  The  furniture  consists  of  a  large  and  ample  stove  (two 
storied  like  the  house)  with  a  baking  oven  running  its  entire  length 
above,  the  stovepipe  ascending  straight  upward,  forming  its  own 
chimney  outside  of  the  roof;  the  height  of  the  stove  being  some 
four  feet  above  its  legs  which  raise  it  some  eight  inches  from  the 
bottom  of  the  floor.  It  is  placed  between  the  two  partitions  and 
nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  room  ;  for  its  accommodation  a  large 
piece  of  the  partition  is  cut  wholly  away  so  that  the  warmth  will 
heat  both  rooms  equally. 

Besides  these  the  tables  are   all    home    made,    and  of  proper 


INTERIOR  OF  HOUSE.  125 

sizes  to  suit  their  different  uses,  being  of  plain  deal  boards  varnished 
or  painted  as  there  is  no  table-cloth  laid  at  the  meals  on  top. 
The  chairs  are  also  home  made,  plain,  high  in  the  back,  and  with 
seats  of  woven  strips  of  deerskin  or  sealskin  with  or  without  a 
cushion  of  patchwork  or  white  cloth  filled  with  ducks'  feathers, — 
withal  quite  comfortable.  A  rocking  chair  made  after  this  fashion, 
as  it  often  is,  is  a  comfortable  affair,  if  not  quite  a  luxury.  In 
the  smaller  of  the  two  rooms  is,  as  the  expression  goes,  ''a. 
poor  apology"  for  a  book-case  containing  a  few  catechisms  and 
books  on  the  Bible,  with  perhaps  the  old  times  Fox's  "  Book  of 
Martyrs,"  a  dilapidated  Pilgrim's  Progress,  one  or  two  Bibles, 
a  number  of  indescribable  volumes  many  of  which  are  in  French, 
besides  a  volume  of  ''The  Leisure  Hour,"  a  London  magazine 
of  good  reading  for  the  household  in  general,  and  perhaps  one 
or  two  torn  books  for  children.  The  shelves  are  loose  or  crooked, 
and  the  books  present  the  appearance  of  having  been  caught  in 
the  act  of  tumbling. 

The  small  room  down  stairs  is  a  bedroom ;  it  contains  a  bureau, 
and,  as  do  the  two  rooms  up  stairs,  a  bed  each,  either  boarded  or 
corded  to  hold  it  together,  in  which  is  of  course  a  tick  filled  with 
feathers  from  ducks  and  other  birds,  as  are  the  pillows  also ; 
the  bedding  is  of  the  coarsest  kind  suitable  for  cold  winters  of 
from  20°  to  40°  below  zero  with  fierce  winds  of  unknown  velocity 
per  hour.  A  simple  mention  of  the  angular  pantry,  built  in  the 
corner  of  the  house  down  stairs,  with  the  lower  part  cupboarded 
and  the  upper  part  shelved  and  open,  holding  the  plates,  cups,  and 
saucers,  a  platter,  a  bowl,  and  one  or  two  pitchers  (of  a  small, 
brown,  glazed  stone  pattern)  with  the  knives  and  forks,  will  do  for 
this  table  furniture.  Placed  in  the  opposite  corner  is  a  small  table 
with  a  washbowl  and  dish  of  soap,  below  which  is  a  pail  of  water 
with  a  small  pail  inside  for  a  dipper,  above  which,  at  the  side,  hangs 
a  towel,  and  in  front  of  which  is  a  quadrangular  piece  of  glass, 
with  or  without  a  frame,  with  mercury  parcelled  behind  it  promis- 
cuously,—  the  whole  called  a  looking-glass;  with  these  one  or  two 
carpenters'  chests  for  tools  containing  clothing  or  other  articles,  and 


126  UTILITY  OF  NEWSPAPERS. 

a  bench  to  sit  on,  and  you  will  have  before  you  a  pretty  fair  picture 
of  the  house  and  furniture.  Three  more  subjects  remain  to  be 
spoken  of. 

First,  the  papering.  Any  one  might  reasonably  be  surprised  at 
the  idea  of  papering  such  a  house  as  above  described,  for  two 
reasons  :  that  there  should  be  the  means  for  such  a  luxury  here,  and 
at  the  way  in  which  it  is  done.  Roof,  boards,  rafters,  the  sides  of  the 
house  up  and  down  stairs,  the  doors,  and  the  cupboard  are  all  pa- 
pered —  the  articles  used  being  anything  in  the  shape  of  book, 
pamphlet,  or  newspaper.  I  have  spent  more  dull,  gloomy  mornings 
than  a  few,  reading  the  titles,  looking  at  the  pictures,  or  reading  the 
stories,  pasted  at  the  head  and  sides  of  my  bed,  and  you  will  be 
surprised  at  the  following  list  of  literature  which  actually  occurs  on 
the  walls  of  our  palatial  mansion  on  this  out-of-the-way  Labrador 
coast.  I  give  you  the  list  directly  as  I  took  it  myself  from  the  pa- 
pers whose  titles  they  represent :  The  Montreal  Witness,  Sunday 
School  Times,  Advance,  Child's  World,  Christian  World,  Child 
at  Home,  Protestant,  Apples  of  Gold,  Well  Spring,  Herald  of  Mercy, 
American  Messenger,  Juvenile  Presbyterian,  Young  Reapers,  Chris- 
tian Messenger,  British  Messenger,  Home  Missionary,  Christian 
Family  Almanac,  Nation,  Youth's  Temperance  Banner,  A  German 
paper.  Sabbath  School  Messenger,  Boston  Journal,  Springfield  Re- 
publican, Christian  Soldier  and  Christian  Guest,  Child's  Paper,  Na- 
tional Quarterly  Review,  Youth's  Companion,  Cottager  and  Artisan, 
Northern  Messenger,  Harper's  Weekly,  Every  Saturday,  Our  Lit- 
tle Ones,  Life  Boat,  Foreign  Missionary,  Young  Missionary,  Sab- 
bath School  Visitor,  Colporteur  and  Dominion  Monthly, — all  these 
I  saw,  and  there  might  have  been  others  that  escaped  me.  Although 
it  may  surprise  you  to  see  a  list  of  thirty-nine  papers,  most  of  whose 
names  are  household  words  at  home,  the  way  in  which  the  people 
get  them  is  also  curious ;  it  being,  I  am  informed,  a  regular  cus- 
tom with  the  Mission  to  send,  at  Christmas  time,  a  bundle  of  old 
papers  —  of  which  they  are  always  receiving  a  large  number  —  to 
each  family  living  near.  About  two  weeks  after  the  receipt  of  these, 
and  usually  just  after  the  holidays  which  here  embrace  the  twelve 


ART  AND  LITERATURE  COMBINED.  127 

days  from  Christmas  to  old  Christmas  day,  the  6th  of  January,  the 
ladies  of  the  house  begin.  They  patch  up  the  old  places,  repaper 
the  dirty  ones,  and  spend  their  time  pasting  on  the  new  papers  in 
every  spot  that  needs  them  until  the  pile  is  exhausted  and  there  are 
no  more ;  then  the  ladies  scold  terribly  because  there  were  not 
half  enough  papers,  and  say  that  they  better  not  have  put  on  any, 
unless  they  could  have  papered  the  whole  house  over  anew.  When 
the  papering  is  completed  it  presents  a  very  curious  appearance.  As 
I  am  now  writing  there  appears  on  the  partition  beside  me,  a  copy 
of  the  Montreal  Witness  Extra,  for  May,  1870,  in  the  centre  of 
which  is  a  large  portrait  of  each  Mr.  Moody  and  Mr.  Sankey,  and  a 
sermon  in  full  of  the  former ;  in  another  paper  next  to  it,  whose 
title  is  torn  off,  is  another  portrait — of  Mr.  Henry  Varley,  and  also 
an  account  of  his  last  service  in  the  Hippodrome  ;  above  this  is  the 
fancy  label  of  a  box  of  Loring  Brothers  Malaga  Raisins  with  a  por- 
trait of  that  gentleman  in  the  centre,  a  vine  of  luscious  grapes  hang- 
ing on  either  side  of  him,  and  a  lot  of  vessels  and  water  below  the 
left  hand,  and  a  steam  factory  on  the  right,  the  whole  done  in  col- 
ored ink ;  a  copy  of  the  Child's  Paper  is  above,  and  the  Sab- 
bath School  Messenger,  at  the  side  of  this,  has  a  picture  of  the 
lyre  bird  on  one  leaf,  and  a  full  sized  illustration  entitled  "  The 
Frozen  Regions"  on  the  other,  which  represents  a  vast  number  of 
curiously  formed  icebergs  along  its  sides,  a  sea  beneath  in  which 
several  large  blocks  of  ice  float  carrying  a  soldierly  row  of  solemn 
looking  penguins  and  several  seal,  and  a  mass  of  dark  clouds  over- 
head. Quite  near  me  an  old  Boston  Journal  relieves  occasional 
monotony  by  an  editorial  on  Disraeli,  and  a  sketch  of  the  "  War 
on  the  Danube,"  with  several  other  things.  Near  the  head  of  my 
bed  is  a  picture  of  a  lady  holding  a  little  child  on  her  lap,  a  small 
girl  talking  to  a  squirrel  which  is  seen  as  a  small  black  speck  away  up 
in  the  dense  foliage  of  the  neighboring  trees,  a  fox-hunting  party, 
and  a  picture  of  two  small  boys  of  which  the  story  beneath  says  that 
the  one  because  he  got  angry  pitched  the  other  into  a  pig  pen, — 
from  which  he  was  rescued  by  a  kind  old  gentleman,  who  also 
appears  in  the  picture  ;  the  paper  is  called  "Apples  of  Gold."     It 


128  THE  FAMILY. 


is  supposed  to  be  a  moral  lesson  paper  for  children ;  but  I  will  not 
stop  longer  to  describe  these  things,  but  pass  on  to  the  family, 
which  comes  next  in  order. 

Here  also  we  come  to  a  difficulty  :  that  of  describing  a  Labrador 
family.  It  would  be  unkind  to  describe  the  family  where  I  stopped 
while  on  the  coast,  also  any  one  particular  family  might  feel  justly 
indignant  should  I  describe  //^.f/r  family,  and  yet  to  do  justice  to  the 
subject  a  description  should  be  given.  Still  we  shall  not  be  out  of 
the  way  should  we  suppose  a  family  composed  of  a  middle  aged  man 
and  his  wife  ;  either  an  old  gentleman  or  an  aged  grandmother ; 
perhaps  a  daughter  or  a  son  (from  15  to  20  years  of  age)  or  both  ; 
two  or  three  small  children  and  a  baby ;  and,  to  aid  in  times  of  gen- 
eral confusion,  when  such  times  come,  which  happens  more  often 
than  the  opposite  extreme,  several  large,  fierce,  full-grown  dogs  and 
one  or  two  puppies  that  are  always  in  the  way,  and  in  a  continual 
state  of  warfare  with  themselves,  the  people  in  the  house, — who  are 
always  scolding  them — and  everybody  and  everything  in  gen- 
eral. When  the  houses  have  porches,  as  nearly  all  the  winter  houses 
do,  the  dogs  and  children  live  in  the  porch  together  nearly  all  the  time, 
—  in  fact  it  is  often  difficult  to  tell  which  make  the  most  noise,  and  in 
the  general  confusion  that  continually  prevails,  to  pick  out  or 
distinguish  the  one  from  the  other.  Of  course  the  utmost  sim- 
plicity of  dress  prevails  among  both  men  and  women,  as  the  richest 
here  are  poor  at  best ;  the  goods  worn  are  coarse  and  thick,  but 
rough  as  they  are,  they  are  better  for  the  harsh  treatment  they  re- 
ceive than  if  they  were  of  a  much  nicer  quality.  There  is,  of 
course,  a  certain  atmosphere  of  home  even  here,  but  it  is  often  hard 
to  distinguish  it,  or  tell  when  it  is  present,  as  the  prevailing  confu- 
sion which  such  small  quarters  necessitate  is  rarely  lulled  ;  and  when 
it  IS,  peaceful  sleep  usually  reigns.  I  do  not  wish  to  convey  the 
impression  that  somebody  is  always  quarrelling  with  something,  but 
there  is  a  constant  chatter  going  on  most  all  of  the  time,  and  when 
quarrelling  is  not  in  order,  as  it  frequently  is,  the  loud  talking  of 
different  parties  between  themselves  takes  its  place.  It  seems  to 
be  the  usual  way  of  putting  one  down,  as  we  say,  to  see  which  can 


OCCUPATION  OF  INHABITANTS.  129 

talk  the  loudest.  If  one  has  something  to  say,  and  anybody  appears 
to  differ  from  the  opinion  expressed,  the  one  who  can  talk  the 
other  down  always  comes  out  ahead. 

The  occupation  of  the  different  members  of  the  family  can  be 
very  briefly  stated  as  that  of  earning  a  living  in  the  summer,  and 
living  in  the  winter.  It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  say  that  this 
means  that  what  is  earned  during  the  summer  in  fishing  and  in  other 
ways  is  consumed,  and  more  besides,  in  provisions,  and  clothing  the 
family  for  the  year ;  and  though  I  make  no  allusions  to  any  spe- 
cial family,  there  is  hardly  an  exception  to  the  rule  that  there  is 
scarcely  a  person  on  the  coast  but  owes  for  one,  two,  or  even 
three  years  back  provisions  ;  this  is  due  to  several  causes,  of  which 
laziness  forms  the  chief. 

In  former  years  those  persons  upon  the  coast  who  kept  httle 
shops  of  provisions  and  the  necessities  of  life,  as  also  the  traders, 
were  obliged  to  trust  out  large  amounts  of  goods  on  the  credit 
of  the  following  year's  fishing.  This  was  well  enough  as  long  as  the 
fishing  was  tolerably  good  and  the  people  were  not  forced  by  hunger 
to  give  untrue  reports  of  the  work  done,  since  a  falling  off  of  the 
supply  of  fish  and  a  little  prevarication  brought  them  provisions, 
etc.,  without  much  overwork  ;  but  one  or  two  years  of  scarcity  of  fish 
soon  left  the  people  no  means  of  paying  their  old  debts,  and  mak- 
ing promises  which  they  could  not  perform,  the  traders  began  to  re- 
fuse them  credit,  and  now  there  are  few  families  on  the  coast  who 
hold  their  own  and  prosper. 

In  the  summer  the  men  fish ;  in  the  fall  they  cut  wood  and  do 
little  odd  jobs  necessary  to  the  preparation  for  winter ;  in  the  win- 
ter they  keep  things  about  their  place  in  order  and  prepare  for 
spring  and  summer,  which  come  almost  together  as  the  ice  does 
not  go  away  till  late  in  May,  by  mending  their  nets,  boats,  and  dog 
sledges  or  komatiks  ;  this  is  usually  finished  by  the  opening  of  the 
season  when  fishing  begins  again.  In  summer  two  or  three  days 
are  taken  to  collect  eggs  of  sea-birds  which  abound  on  all  the 
islands, —  enough  for  family  use  only.  The  down  of  the  sea-birds  is 
kept  for  beds  and  pillows  and  the  flesh  proves  a  pleasing  variety 
9 


130  CHILDREN— OUT-OF-DOOR  LIFE. 

from  the  usual  diet  of  fish,  otherwise  so  universal  and  abundant. 
The  women  stay  at  home  mostly  and  keep  things  in  order  there ; 
cooking  the  meals  which  usually  consists  of  the  most  simple  fare  : 
bread  with  or  without  butter  (some  use  lard  for  butter),  rarely  a 
piece  of  pork,  and  tea  of  the  usual  kind  called  black  or  breakfast. 
The  main  stand-by  is  either  codfish  or  herring  with  an  occasional 
mackerel ;  while  the  red  berry  and  baked  apple  form  excellent  pre- 
serves. The  grandmother  or  the  grandfather,  of  course,  does 
little  but  exist,  so  to  speak,  though  the  former  keeps  the  family  sup- 
plied with  good  warm  knit  stockings,  and  makes  and  mends  boots. 
This  may  seem  a  queer  statement,  but  one  has  only  to  consider  that 
the  boots  here  are  very  different  articles  from  what  are  obtained 
in  the  "States,"  as  the  people  here  say,  and  that  they  are  made 
after  the  Esquimaux  pattern,  of  sealskin,  and  with  soft  tops  and 
bottoms,  to  be  convinced  of  the  fact. 

The  children  are,  as  I  have  said  before,  a  constant  source  of  dis- 
turbance, and  they  with  the  dogs  are  always  under  foot ;  if  it  is 
not  one,  it  is  the  other,  and  more  often  it  is  both.  They  grow  up 
together  and  fight  together ;  all  at  once  the  child  becomes  large 
enough  to  be  of  use,  and  then  he  or  she  is  up  for  himself  or 
herself,  and  is  either  ordered  about  by  the  women  inside  to  attend 
to  such  duties  as  they  are  able,  or  by  the  men  outside  to  help  them. 
The  dogs  are  a  mongrel  half  breed.  They  fight  all  the  time,  and 
eat  anything  that  they  can  get  hold  of,  from  leather,  or  rather  seal- 
skin, which  is  used  in  the  place  of  leather,  to  meat  in  its  most 
putrid  condition. 

The  out-of-door  hfe  and  surroundings  of  the  people  are  neither 
varied  nor  peculiar,  and  they  live  here  much  as  such  a  class  of  people 
do  in  other  climates,  dressing  to  suit  the  season,  and  paying  very 
little  attention  to  their  appearance,  except  during  holidays  or  Sun- 
days which  are  scrupulously  regarded  ;  the  latter,  by  simply  keeping 
the  day  —  for  in  winter  it  is  usually  impossible  to  get  to  church,  and 
in  summer  it  depends  upon  the  wind,  unless  they  live  too  far  away, 
as  to  whether  they  can  get  there  at  all — on  holidays  by  dressing  in 
their  best,  and  having  a  good  time,  a  dance,  or  a  shooting  match ; 


HOSPITALITY  TO  STRANGERS. 


131 


the  men  usually,  if  not  almost  invariably,  ending  up  with  a  dru7ik. 
The  utmost  hospitality  is  extended  to  strangers,  and,  as  the  various 
houses  are  often  at  a  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles  apart,  it  is  fre- 
quently the  case  that  a  person,  travelling  from  one  place  to  another, 
is  of  necessity  compelled  to  seek  food  and  a  night's  lodging ;  when 
such  is  the  case  personal  quarrels  are  invariably  forgotten,  as  it  is 
considered  the  height  of  meanness,  though  I  use  the  word  only  for 
want  of  a  better,  to  let  personality  interfere  with,  you  might  say, 
the  necessities  of  travel.  The  men  are  scrupulously  a  prayerful 
race  ;  and,  with  the  great  number  with  whom  I  was  often  obliged 
to  "rough  it,"  I  know  of  hardly  a  case  where  the  men  did  not  each 
regularly  kneel  in  the  morning  and  at  evening  before  retiring,  and 
say  their  prayers  without  the  least  hesitation,  no  matter  how  many 
were  around. 


prm^j 


132  FRESH  PROVISIONS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Dinner  off  fresh  meat  —  Credit  and  shiftlessness  —  A  Labrador  snowstorm  — 
Wind  —  Preparing  for  storm  —  Storming  hard  —  Firewood  —  Storm  in- 
creases—  Sleepless  night  —  Another  day  of  it  —  A  grand  sight  —  Vio- 
lence of  wind  and  wave  —  Destruction  of  stage  —  Calmer  weather  — 
Beautiful  ice  scene  —  End  of  storm  —  Thanksgiving  Day  —  Komatiks 
and  rackets. 


Saturday,  November  13.  W^e  went  to  Bonne  Esperance  partly 
with  the  intention  of  staying  and  visiting,  and  partly  to  mail  our 
letters  which  of  course  we  found  were  too  late,  and  consequently 
obliged  to  remain  over  until  next  spring.  Encouraging  prospect ! 
We  had  for  dinner  a  piece  of  fresh  pork  which  the  shipwrecked  crew 
of  the  Edward  Cardwell  had  presented  to  Mr.  Whiteley.  It  tasted 
very  nice,  especially  as  we  had  been  living  on  salt  pork  in  a  log 
cabin  for  a  month  past.  Pork  is  with  me  at  no  time  a  favorite  dish, 
and  it  is  only  a  luxury  when  nothing  better  has  been  afforded  for  a 
month  or  two  previous.  The  following  Sunday  was  spent  in  doors, 
in  reading  and  in  pleasant  conversation  with  this  most  agreeable 
family. 

Monday  it  came  off  clear  and  cold.  I  had  a  chance  to  observe 
the  island  quite  closely.  Mr.  Whiteley  has  greatly  improved  it  since 
my  visit  in  1875.  He  now  has  a  httle  shop  or  store,  and  sells  a 
great  many  things  to  the  people.  Of  course  he  only  attempts  to  keep 
in  stock  those  things  absolutely  needed  by  the  people  for  food  and 
clothing.  One  is  obliged  to  give  so  much  credit  here  that  it 
hardly  pays  to  keep  anything,  much  less  an  assortment  of  useless 
articles  to  please  the  fancy  of  some  wordly-minded  maid  or  fellow. 
A  very  few  send  to  Quebec  every  year  and  purchase  a  few  articles 
of  gorgeous  colors,  and  display  a  dress  disproportionate  to  their 


BEGINNING  OF  A  HURRICANE.  133 

manner  of  living ;  but  the  majority  are  well  contented  with  more 
simple  yet  durable  attire,  and  toil  on,  winter  and  summer,  with  no 
greater  ambition,  apparently,  than  to  become  the  wife  of  some  lazy 
young  man  who  can  barely  support  himself,  and  who  generally 
succeeds  finally  in  supporting  neither  himself  nor  her;  but  the 
people  are  not  all  of  this  shiftless  class,  though  so  many  of  them 
incline  that  way. 

This  afternoon  I  gave  away,  with  much  reluctance,  my  thermom- 
eter, with  a  promise  exacted  in  return  that  an  accurate  series  of 
readings  should  be  kept  up  four  times  a  day  throughout  the  winter. 
The  parties  of  course  failed  to  keep  their  agreement.  It  is  cold  to- 
day and  freezing,  with  the  wind  northwest. 

Yesterday,  and  to-day  (Thursday)  the  wind  has  continued  north- 
west. One  of  the  boats  at  work  on  the  wreck  returned  this  morn- 
ing with  its  mizzen-mast,  a  huge,  iron-bound  affair  about  seventy 
feet  in  length,  and  together  the  men  hauled  it  ashore,  out  of  reach  of 
the  water.    It  has  been  cold,  cloudy,  and  threatening  weather  all  day. 

Friday  it  snowed  hard  all  day,  and  the  wind  began  to  blow  very 
fiercely,  increasing  in  strength  towards  night,  while  the  temperature 
continued  to  fall.  A  snowstorm  here  is  somewhat  different  from 
one  in  the  States.  The  snow  begins  to  fall  very  moderate,  while 
the  clouds  gradually  grow  heavier  and  heavier,  and  the  flakes  fall 
thicker  and  faster  until  the  sight  becomes  so  blinded  that,  dazzled 
and  bewildered,  one  can  with  difficulty  distinguish  objects  a  few 
rods  away  only.  It  comes  with  a  fierceness  scarcely  credible,  and 
a  suddenness  hardly  less  so ;  while  it  will  often  clear  up  as  quickly 
as  it  came  on. 

Saturday  was  a  quiet  day,  but  cold,  with  the  storm  and  wind  still 
heavy,  the  latter  freshening  towards  night. 

Sunday,  Nov.  the  21st.  Last  night  about  midnight  the  wind  be- 
gan to  blow  and  the  elements  to  war  fiercely.  This  morning  the 
wind  increased  in  violence,  and  spring  tides  rose  to  a  greater 
height  than  they  had  been  seen  before  for  a  long  time,  and  nearly 
carried  away  the  woodpile  in  front  of  the  house  :  this  is  a  large, 
conical  shaped  pile  of  fir  and  larch  sticks,  each  ten  to  thirty  feet 


134  PREPARING  FOR  BAD  WEATHER. 

high,  and  about  eight  inches  in  diameter  at  the  base,  stacked  with 
their  small  ends  upward  of  course,  thus  making  the  whole  affair 
look  like  an  immense  Indian  wigwam.  It  is  placed  in  front  of  the 
house  and  on  a  slightly  descending  slope,  about  ten  rods  from 
the  sea  at  low  tide.  The  temperature  throughout  the  day  scarcely 
varied  from  i8°.  Frequent  snow  squalls,  a  wind  direct  east,  and  a 
sudden  and  tremendous  fall  of  the  barometer,  told  that  we  might 
expect  a  "spell  of  weather,"  as  the  people  say,  or  even  worse,  with 
the  possibility  of  a  hurricane.  As  a  means  of  preparation,  al- 
though it  was  Sunday,  the  old  adage  of  "  a  work  of  necessity," 
though  it  was  hardly  of  "mercy,"  seemed  to  justify  us  in  mustering 
all  hands  and  preparing  for  the  worst.  The  worst  appeared  then 
to  be  the  hauling  of  the  big  logs, — as  many  of  them  as  we  were 
able  —  which  had  been  towed  ashore  from  the  wreck  as  far  up  on 
the  beach  as  our  limited  force  of  four  men  and  ten  children 
would  permit.  This  was  not  far,  however,  as  solid  oak  logs  some 
eighteen  or  twenty  inches  square,  and  thirty  to  fifty  feet  in  length, 
are  anything  but  easy  handling.  We  then  hauled  all  the  boats, 
those  at  least  that  seemed  at  all  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  wind 
or  water,  as  far  up  on  the  rocks  as  we  were  able.  They  were  very 
heavy,  and  to  haul  them  we  were  obliged  to  use  a  "tackle."  This 
is  an  oblong  block,  with  two  wheels  inside,  separated  by  a  narrow 
partition,  over  which  the  ropes  run  easily,  while  the  block  is  fastened 
to  the  boat  by  a  large  iron  hook.  The  end  rope  is  fastened 
to  a  ring  in  the  top  of  the  block,  while  the  rope  passes  over 
the  wheels  and  through  a  single  wheeled  block  some  distance 
back,  this  latter  block  being  fastened  to  a  large  immovable  anchor. 
In  this  way  a  small  force  will  literally  run  away  with  the  log  or  boat 
attached,  which  a  large  force  may  exert  its  utmost  to  move  with 
the  hands.  After  working  hard  all  the  morning,  it  seemed  as  if 
we  really  had  everything  prepared  for  the  storm,  should  it  break  in 
fury  upon  us. 

About  noon  the  thermometer  rose  to  36°,  and  the  sky  showed 
signs  of  clearing ;  but  it  was  only  a  sign,  for  soon  the  wind  started 
up  again,  and  blew  a  perfect  gale  from  the  southwest,  and  the 


ANXIETY  FOR  THE  WOOD.  135 

darkened  clouds,  that  everywhere  enveloped  the  sky  shutting  out 
the  faintest  shadow  of  blue,  began  to  send  down  rain  in  torrents. 
We  now  began  to  realize  that  a  Labrador  hurricane  was  fairly 
upon  us.  Soon  the  rain  gave  place  to  hail,  then  the  hail  to  rain 
again,  and  even  fierce  flurries  of  snow  scattered  huge  flakes  in 
every  direction.  The  wind  blew  harder  than  ever,  and  it  soon  be- 
came dangerous  to  go  outside  the  door.  About  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  the  tide  reached  so  great  a  height  as  again  to  threaten 
the  woodpile  in  front  of  the  house,  and  though  this  was  placed 
higher  up  on  the  beach  than  last  year  even,  and  very  near  the 
house,  the  waves  reached  the  foot  of  the  pile,  and  gradually  began 
to  lap  against  its  butts  as  if  to  undermine  it ;  there  was  real 
danger  that  if  we  did  not  lash  it  with  ropes  the  whole  pile  would 
be  carried  away  with  the  tide. 

In  this  cold  region,  wood  is  by  no  means  as  abundant  as  it  is  in 
most  countries.  Here  the  coast  produces  little  save  stunted 
growths  of  fir,  spruce,  and  birch ;  the  latter  only  is  really  fit  for 
firewood.  Generally  each  man  is  obliged  to  go  up  some  of  the 
rivers  near  his  abode,  and  cut  his  own  wood  from  the  larger 
growths  ten,  fifteen,  or  even  twenty  miles  inland.  There  the 
trees  are  from  twenty  to  thirty  or  forty  feet  high,  and  six 
to  ten  inches  in  diameter  at  their  bases.  These  trees  are  trimmed, 
then  formed  into  rafts  and  towed  down  to  the  stage -head  of  the 
dwelling  for  which  they  are  intended.  As  all  this  requires  labor, 
the  wood  becomes  correspondingly  valuable.  It  is  generally 
kept  by  being  piled  with  the  butt  ends  resting  upon  the  ground, 
and  the  smaller  ends  resting  upon  each  other  in  the  air,  like  the 
ends  of  the  poles  of  an  Indian  mishwap.  At  Bonne  Esperance 
the  wood  is  nearly  all  so  piled  ;  it  would  thus  be  easily  undermined, 
and  probably  all  lost  if  carried  away  by  the  tide.  Hurricanes  are 
no  respecters  of  woodpiles,  and  we  expected  each  moment  that  it 
would  be  necessary  to  brave  the  tempest  and  rush  out  and  lash  the 
pile  lest  the  waves  should  carry  it  bodily  away. 

About  four  o'clock  the  tide  turned,  but  the  wind  had  increased 
rather  than  diminished  ;  and  blow  it  did,  hard  and  strong,  fierce  and 


136  STORM  INCREASING. 


cold ;  the  clouds  were  as  thick  and  dark  as  ever.  An  occasional 
flurry  of  snow  came  down,  and  the  scattering  raindrops  began  to 
freeze  as  they  fell ;  it  was  hard  to  find  standing  places  where  the 
ground  was  not  frozen  and  treacherous.  The  wind  had  also  drifted 
the  snow,  into  ridges  and  drifts  of  uncomfortable  depth,  though, 
thank  fortune,  the  cold  had  hardened  the  crust  so  that  one  could 
readily  walk  upon  it,  could  he  once  gain  a  foothold ;  thus  with 
ice,  glare,  and  drifts  it  was  nearly  impossible  to  face  the  wind  that 
whistled  and  blew  so  terribly.  The  temperature  by  this  time  went 
rapidly  downward,  until  about  dusk  it  reached  i8°  above  zero, — 
not  very  cold  for  this  region,  but  just  in  the  beginning  of  winter 
cold  enough  to  freeze  everything  liquid  that  presented  its  surface 
to  the  air. 

The  wind  continued  to  blow,  fiercely  and  more  fiercely,  long 
after  the  dark  heavy  clouds  had  shut  out  what  glimpses  of  daylight 
remained  struggling  faintly  with  the  approaching  night;  and  we 
could  hear  the  howling  and  roaring  of  the  tempest  without,  as  the 
mingled  sissing  and  whistling  of  the  wind  combined  with  the 
crashing  and  the  thrashing  of  the  waves  against  the  shores,  and  the 
thug  !  thug  !  of  the  broadsides  of  water  that  fell  upon  the  rocky 
beach.  It  was  a  fearful  night.  Any  other  than  a  strong,  well  built 
house  would  have  with  difficulty  stood  against  the  tempest ;  and, 
beHeve  me,  there  was  very  little  sleeping  done  that  night. 

Monday  the  2  2d.  The  storm  is  not  yet  over.  We  awoke  this 
morning  and  found  the  same  war  of  elements  to  whose  music  we 
listened  as  we  sank  to  sleep  last  night.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  wit- 
nessing this  morning,  and  in  fact  throughout  the  day,  a  sight  that  I 
shall  not  probably  see  again  soon.  The  sea  in  all  its  rage  and 
power,  lashed  by  the  wind  and  augmented  by  the  tide,  vents  its 
fury  upon  itself.  Huge  ridges  of  wave  press  forward  like  an  army ; 
suddenly  each  end  concentrates  its  waters  toward  the  centre  of  the 
ridge  and  with  a  grand  onward,  upward  rush  sends  up  a  huge  mass 
of  spray  and  white  foam  which  still  shoots  upward  in  smaller  angry 
sprays  and  jets,  while  the  mass  of  wave  below  sinks  down  into  the 
water,  or  boldly  crashes  or  tumbles  over  itself  as  it  splashes  on 


SITUATION  OF  STAGE-HEAD.  137 


the  water  in  front  of  it,  —  an  angry  sea,  lashing  itself  into  foam- 
covered  patches  here  and  there,  and  everywhere,  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  reach. 

It  is  next  to  impossible  to  do  justice  to  a  tempest  on  these  Lab- 
rador shores.  While  on  our  own  coast  at  home  I  have  seen 
presented  a  truly  magnificent  sight,  when  a  storm  sent  long  ridges 
of  foaming  and  sparkling  waves,  with  their  watery  foam-bearing 
crests  towering  up  ten,  fifteen,  or  even  twenty  feet  into  the  air, 
following  each  other  with  regular  step,  beating  at  length  upon 
the  sandy  and  often  rocky  shore  with  quick  splashes,  that  sent  the 
foaming  and  watery  masses  high  up  on  a  beach  extending  miles 
in  uninterrupted  distance  in  either  direction,  and  felt  that  I 
could  go  home  and  tell  of  a  storm  at  sea,  and  of  its  fierceness, 
grandeur,  and  magnificence.  —  yet  the  memory  of  such  a  scene 
is  of  little  account  in  comparison  to  that  which  I  shall  now 
describe,  and  which  I  not  only  saw  and  felt,  but  that  those 
around  me  who  have  witnessed  the  terrors  of  a  tempest  upon 
these  shores  not  only  saw  but  felt,  and  which  you  will  soon  see 
they  have  cause  to  remember. 

Bonne  Esperance  island,  where  we  are  at  present,  is  a  small 
island  not  more  than  two  miles  in  circumference.  It  contains  two 
small  elevations,  one  or  two  small  ponds  of  water,  and  is  separated 
on  the  north  and  northwest  by  a  narrow  band  of  water  from  the 
mainland.  On  the  western  side  of  the  island  are  the  stage,  and 
the  several  buildings  connected  with  the  fishery  department  which 
reach  to  the  water's  edge,  extending  from  this  backward  towards  the 
path.  A  board  walk  extends  up  the  embankment  to  the  level  above 
where  the  fish  flakes  are  spread ;  back  of  these  are  sheds  and 
outhouses,  while  a  descending  slope  brings  you,  a  little  to  the 
left,  to  the  house  which  is  nearly  on  a  level  with  high  tide  mark  in 
front,  and  which  looks  directly  out  upon  the  waters  of  this  little 
bay-like  inclosure,  thence  to  the  waters  of  the  open  ocean.  On  a 
perfectly  clear  day  the  highlands  of  Newfoundland  can  be  seen 
fifteen  miles  directly  east.  Close  in-shore  the  island  is  one  mass  of 
rocks.     Sometimes  low,  but  broadly  rounded  tops  of  bowlders  show 


138  GRAND  BUT  TERRIBLE  SCENE. 

themselves,  while  on  the  southeast  a  low,  receding  cliff  receives 
the  force  of  the  waves  in  this  direction.  Just  beyond  the  house  is 
a  small  sandy  depression  called  salt-water  pond,  since  it  is  filled 
with  salt  water  at  high  tide  only.  All  these  peculiarities  of  the 
locality  are  seen  at  a  glance  from  the  front  doorstep,  and  the  porch 
itself  is  only  a  few  rods  from  highest  tide  marks.  In  this  out-of- 
the-world  region,  this  bleak,  cold,  desolate  Labrador,  over  a  thou- 
sand miles  from  home,  I  am  spending  the  winter.  On  this  morn- 
ing, in  this  terrible  weather,  while  still  uncertain  as  to  that  which 
may  follow,  I  stand  and  gaze  upon  a  Labrador  hurricane.  On  this 
little  island  I  am  far  enough  from  land  to  get  all  the  benefits  of  the 
raging  ocean,  to  see  its  whirlpools  and  billows,  and  watch  its 
majestic,  towering  columns  of  water  as  they  rise  and  break  in  all 
possible  shapes  to  the  right,  the  left,  and  in  front  of  me.  It  is, 
however,  sufficient ;  I  shall  remember  the  sight  for  the  rest  of  my 
life.  While  I  cannot  do  justice  to  the  scene  I  can  only  add  my 
own  feeble  expressions  of  the  terrific  violence  and  the  awful  grand- 
eur of  this  day's  scene  as  it  stands  pictured  on  my  mind.  The  whole 
sea  in  commotion,  actually  stirred  to  its  very  depths,  and  break- 
ing into  foaming  masses,  in  places  where  in  calm  the  depth 
was  thirty  and  even  forty  feet ;  and  you  could  even  see  the  water 
black  with  mud  from  the  clayey  bottom,  of  frequent  occurrence  here. 
From  a  short  distance  seaward,  a  long  line  of  undulating  wave 
quickly  forms,  increasing  till  its  crest  is  a  sheet  of  foam,  while 
the  wave  itself  breaks  up  into  smaller  masses  some  of  which  sink 
into  the  waters  below,  and  forming  sort  of  pits  or  whirlpools  are 
lost  in  a  well-like  abyss,  while  others  raise  themselves  again  high  in 
the  air  and  shower  forth  spray  like  the  jets  of  a  Parisian  fountain. 
Each  successive  wave  thus  turns  and  twists  itself  into  the  utmost 
variety  of  forms  and  shapes,  while  wave  succeeds  wave  with  the 
greatest  rapidity. 

The  narrow  islets  in  the  distance  beyond  are  but  playthings  for 
the  waves,  and  huge  billows  roll  completely  over  the  lower  ones, 
while  white  spray  tosses  itself  from  one  side  to  the  other  of  the  higher 
yet  still  low  crests.     It  seemed  as  if  the  waves  on  either  side  of  these 


STORM  CONTINUES.  139 


heights  delighted  to  show  their  mighty  strength,  while  they  vied 
with  each  other  in  throwing  their  spray  over  them  and  into  the 
sea  beyond.  Now  all  the  rocks  and  points  of  land,  of  which  there 
are  many  jutting  out  into  the  sea  on  either  side,  are  in  turn  covered 
with  a  mass  of  foam  and  white-capped  spray,  while  the  water 
rebounds  high  into  the  air  fifty  or  a  hundred  feet  at  least ;  some- 
times it  breaks  over  the  rocks  with  a  report  like  thunder,  sending 
long  sheets  of  glistening  spray  vertically  forwards.  All  these  varied 
scenes  we  beheld  in  one  moment,  and  almost  at  a  single  glance, 
and  more  beside.  The  wind,  the  rain,  the  blinding  sleet  or  snow  ;  the 
dark  heavens,  and  still  darker  horizon ;  the  foaming,  seething,  and 
hurrying,  the  turning  and  twisting  masses  of  mad,  white,  frothy, 
granular  (for  I  can  think  of  no  other  word  to  express  the  peculiar 
effects  of  light  spray  upon  a  darker  ground  of  water)  watery  crests 
that  rise  and  fall,  or  cover  the  whole  surface  of  the  water  as  far  as 
the  eye  can  reach,  are  all  seen  in  a  moment.  No  pen  can  do 
justice  to  the  terrific  grandeur  of  the  scene  ;  no  picture  can  give  a 
real  impression  of  its  awfulness.  My  memory  can  scarcely  retain 
the  thoughts  that  the  moment  or  moments  (for  the  storm  thus 
continued  without  respite  all  day)  inspired.  And  yet  I  have  not 
told  all. 

To  have  simply  witnessed  a  storm  of  this  description,  and  known 
that  it  could  do  damage  to  any  of  our  property,  would  in 
itself  have  been  a  sight  to  have  recalled  continually  in  after  life. 
Remembering  the  care  and  pains  taken  to  save  everything  useful 
in  this  out-of-the-world  region,  the  expense  of  transportation,  and 
the  real  value  of  any  little  improvement  when  once  made,  you 
can  go  with  me  to  another  part  of  the  island,  not  far  distant,  and 
look  with  renewed  awe  upon  the  destruction  going  on  there. 
Struggling  fiercely  against  the  wind,  just  before  the  additional  dusk 
of  evening  set  in,  we  hurry  down  the  little  hill  at  the  west  to  the 
stage-head  and  wharf,  to  see  if  all  is  safe  there.  Three  weeks  ago 
to-day  the  Edward  Cardwell  was  wrecked,  as  I  have  before  des- 
cribed, and  the  cargo  of  huge  oak,  pine,  and  other  varieties  of 
wood  logs,  beside  deal  boards,  scattered  far  and  wide  along  the 


140  FOREBODINGS. 


coast.  The  gentleman  with  whom  I  tarried  (Wm.  W.  H.  Whiteley), 
finding  that  he  could  dispose  of  them  to  good  advantage,  sent  out 
boats  to  pick  up  all  that  they  could  find,  while  he  offered  to  purchase 
for  cash,  or  trade  from  the  little  shop  of  provisions  and  dry  goods, 
of  all  those  who  should  bring  him  either  logs  or  boards.  In  this 
way  he  gathered  a  large  lot  of  lumber.  The  huge  logs  had  been 
hauled  above  a  supposable  high  water  mark  —  for  this  heavy  pine 
and  oak  tmiber  requires  a  dozen  men  to  remove  a  single  log — and 
been  allowed  to  accumulate  on  all  sides  about  the  stage-head, 
which  was  thus  closely  hemmed  in  with  these  solid  timbers,  many 
of  which  were  eighteen  inches  in  breadth  and  width,  and  forty  to 
fifty-four  feet  in  length.  There  they  had  lain,  rising  and  falling 
lazily  at  the  highest  tide  only,  for  the  past  two  weeks.  The  stage 
head,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  is  a  sort  of  shed  built  out  into 
the  water  upon  logs  that  inclose  huge  masses  of  stones  to  weight 
the  platform  and  hold  it  in  place,  while  the  main  building  is  propped 
up  with  upright  posts,  buried  some  distance  in  the  earth  and  mud 
below,  supporting  the  flooring  at  a  distance  of  some  eight  feet  from 
the  bottom  at  low  tide. 

At  the  stage-head  the  boats  are  fastened,  and  here  the  fish  are 
cured  and  packed ;  here  are  a  great  majority  of  the  other  stores  of 
the  fishermen, — the  boats  are  housed  for  the  winter  inside  the 
building ;  while  barrels  of  fish,  flour,  and  hogsheads  of  cod  oil, 
with  all  sorts  of  implements  and  utensils  are  stored  also.  There  is 
often  a  second  stage  separated  by  a  platform  from  the  first,  on 
which  platform  are  stored  boards  and  plank  of  various  kinds, 
hogsheads  empty  or  full  of  refuse  cod  liver,  or  blubber  as  it  is 
termed,  while  the  stage  house  itself  stands  farther  back,  the  platform 
with  its  railing  being  nearest  the  sea.  While  all  this  hurricane  is 
raging,  and  while  it  is  almost  impossible  to  walk  ahead  a  dozen 
steps,  it  seems  proper  to  "take  a  look  at  the  stage"  to  see  that  all 
is  right  there ;  and  what  do  we  see  ?  In  this  little  sort  of  natural 
harbor  the  waves  are  stirred  with  almost  the  force  that  they  are  in 
the  open  sea,  while  the  water  breaks  to  the  bottom  in  huge  billows 
which,  lifting  themselves  in  their  fury,  rush  forward  and  hurl  them- 


DESTRUCTION.  HI 


selves  on  the  jam  of  logs  that  I  have  mentioned  as  lying  all 
around  the  stage  ;  the  logs  are  gradually  breaking  loose  and  drifting 
about  at  the  mercy  of  the  billows.  It  is  spring  tide,  the  water  is  at 
its  height,  and  we  are  powerless  but  to  stand  and  watch  the  scene, 
while  ten  or  fifteen  huge  logs  are  dancing  about  as  if  they  were 
playthings.  Now  the  water  breaks  over  both  stage-heads,  making 
it  impossible  for  one  to  rescue  the  provision  and  other  material  there 
stored.  The  foam  flies  in  blinding  sheets  over  boards,  barrels,  and 
hogsheads  (or  puncheons  as  they  are  here  styled)  alike ;  it  dashes 
against  the  sides  of  the  stage  house,  and  freezes  in  heavy  masses 
wherever  it  touches.  The  wind  whistles,  or  rather  hurries  past  us  for 
it  flies  too  swiftly  to  whistle,  and  still  we  can  only  watch  the  scene. 

Soon  the  logs  are  nearly  all  loose  from  their  moorings  ;  we  watch 
the  waves  as  they  catch  them  and  hurl  them  with  terrific  violence 
against  the  slender  underpinning  of  the  stage  house, — which  but 
for  this  gale  would  have  been  sufficiently  tight  to  have  stood  all 
ordinary  weather  during  the  winter — and  crush  down  the  foundation 
posts  as  if  they  were  small  sticks.  Crash  follows  swiftly  after  crash. 
A  dull  thug,  and  the  farther  part  of  the  stage  house  falls,  roof 
and  sides,  upon  the  precious  stores  contained  within,  while  the 
inner  edge  of  the  platform,  thus  loosened  of  its  foundation  posts, 
sinks  several  feet.  The  topmost  crests  of  the  waves  sweep  over 
the  whole,  though  not  with  sufficient  force  to  carry  anything  away. 
Over  this  slippery  mass  it  is  impossible  for  one  to  think  of  walking 
for  an  instant.  We  rush  for  the  inside  of  the  stage,  after  opening 
the  large  outer  doors  at  the  end,  and  are  appalled  to  find  half  the 
flooring  already  swept  away  and  the  large  new  boats  balancing  on 
the  edge  of  a  slender  support  that  threatens  to  give  way  and 
engulf  them  instantly.  There  were  four  of  these  boats,  each  one 
w^orth  at  least  one  hundred  dollars,  and  had  they  been  carried 
away,  it  would  have  been  a  great  loss  and  one  not  easily  replaced. 
As  it  is  we  are  in  time  to  save  them,  and  do  so  at   great  risk. 

While  doing  this  another  crash  comes — for  the  logs  are  still  being 
hurled  against  the  underpinning  of  the  stage  house,  though  their 
number  and  clustered  weight  now  hinder  what  otherwise  one  or 


142  STAGE  GIVES  WAY  — CALM. 

■ 1 

two  logs  might  have  easily  accomplished,  in  the  destruction  of  this 
with  also  perhaps  that  of  the  other  stage  entirely — and  another 
part  of  the  stage  and  platform,  thus  undermined,  falls.  We  rush 
outside  and  are  just  in  time  to  see  the  water  lift  it  with  its  waves ; 
to  see  the  platform  bend  lower  and  lower  until,  with  a  final  crack, 
it  parts,  and  hurls  barrels  and  boards  upon  the  rising  crests  of 
the  billows  surging  upward  to  receive  them.  Powerless  to  hinder 
it  we  see  several  barrels  of  fish,  and  five  barrels  of  flour  of  another 
man — who  could  ill  afford  the  loss — go  towing  about  with  the  logs 
on  the  watery  billows,  mingled  with  boards  and  debris  of  hay,  chips, 
and  all  sorts  of  material  swept  clean  off  the  stage.  Presently  two 
logs  catch  one  of  the  barrels  of  flour  between  them ;  opening  for 
a  moment  they  come  together  again  with  a  crash,  the  barrel  is 
burst  in  an  instant,  and  a  cloud  of  flour  flies  in  all  directions, 
while  cakes  of  dough  go  floating  off  on  the  waves.  Three  barrels 
of  flour  and  several  of  fish  are  speedily  disposed  of;  one  apparently 
sinks  bodily  as  it  disappears  and  is  not  seen  afterwards,  while  but 
one  is  saved  whole  and  another  in  part.  But  unless  the  storm 
increases  the  remaining  damage  will  be  slight,  and  we  return  to  the 
house.  During  this  gale,  to-day,  the  barometer  went  do\vn  to  the 
lowest  that  some  twenty  years  of  readings  have  given  it  upon  this  part 
of  the  coast,  reaching  27.32  ;  the  thermometer  19°,  and  the  wind 
still  southwest  varying  to  north.  At  length  night  comes,  and  we  go 
to  sleep  again  listening  to  the  roar  of  the  tempest,  which,  however, 
shows  signs  of  abating ;  still  we  are  anxious  for  the  morrow. 

Tuesday  the  23d.  Our  hopes  have  not  deceived  us,  and  this 
morning  we  awake  to  find  the  tempest  moderated  to  such  an  extent 
that  we  can  calmly  view  the  extent  of  last  night's  disaster.  The 
waters  are  comparatively  calm,  though  they  still  toss  about  the  logs, 
boards,  and  miscellaneous  pieces  of  wood  that  have  gathered  upon 
its  surface ;  chips  and  debris  are  floating  about  on  all  sides  matting 
the  surface  of  the  water  like  a  carpet  which  undulates  with  the  motion 
of  the  waves  beneath.  The  further  end  of  the  stage  house  has  fallen 
in  a  mass  upon  the  stage-head,  which  has  lost  the  greater  part  of 
its  underpinning  and  part  of  its  platform ;   while  the  right  hand 


AN  ICE  SCENE  — STORM  ENDS.  143 

floor,  inside  the  building,  has  fallen  out  entirely, — it  is  a  wonder 
what  has  kept  the  whole  building  from  going.  Great  masses  of  ice 
cover  the  ruins ;  the  sides  of  the  stage  house  that  still  remain 
standing  are  covered  with  sheets  of  heavy  frozen  matter,  while  huge 
blocks  of  icicles  hang  from  the  edge  of  the  roof.  The  railings  of 
the  stage  beyond  hang  with  icy  masses  that  fall  in  solid  sheets 
nearly  to  the  ground.  Everything  seems  covered  with  this  dull, 
opaque,  heavy  saltwater  ice.  We  see  before  us  a  sea  of  frozen, 
wooden  matter.  We  spend  all  the  day  in  cleaning  and  clearing 
away,  and  in  trying  to  find  the  extent  of  the  damage  done ;  in 
relaying  the  broken  foundations,  strengthening  the  beams,  raising 
the  broken  and  bending,  though  not  yet  fallen,  portions  of  the 
platform,  and  in  general  repairs.  Night  finds  us  more  cheery,  and 
sanguine  that  one  or  two  more  days'  work  will  right  matters  again. 
Wednesday  the  24th.  To-day  the  storm  is  fully  over,  and  the 
men  have  labored  hard  at  clearing  away  the  rubbish,  and  once 
more  righting  things.  The  wind  has  been  mostly  from  the  north. 
The  water  has  calmed  down  once  more,  its  surface  stirred  only  by 
the  low,  long  hnes  of  wave  that  occasionally  advance  and  break 
upon  the  shoreline  everywhere  around  the  island ;  the  whole  water 
is  still  colored  a  dark  clay  green,  an  evidence  that  at  this  point  the 
sea  had  been  stirred  to  its  very  depths.  The  magistrate  says  that 
he  has  never  seen  it  of  so  intense  a  color  during  the  twenty  years 
he  has  resided  on  the  coast.  Everywhere  upon  the  shore  are  clams 
and  mussels,  shells  of  many  different  varieties,  starfish,  echini,  and 
holothurians  of  many  kinds,  besides  innumerable  other  species  of 
sea  dwelling  animals.  The  beaches  were  every\vhere  literally  cov- 
ered with  these  treasures  of  the  deep,  while  the  children  brought  them 
home  by  the  armful.  Beautifully  colored  starfish,  some  of  them 
immense  fellows  a  foot  or  more  from  end  to  end  of  arms,  and 
brown,  red,  and  gray,  both  light  colored  and  dark,  all  told  of  an 
unusual  commotion  in  the  elements  of  both  air  and  sea.  By 
this  time  the  sky  had  regained  its  usual  and  natural  hue  of  hazy 
blue,  with  scarce  a  cloud  save  in  the  far  horizon  where  a  dull,  heavy 
shadow  of  the  hurricane  hung  like  a  ghost  or  ghoul  that  seemed 


144  THANKSGIVING  DAY  IN  EARNEST, 

slowly  to  sink  lower  and  lower,  while  it  grew  fainter  and  fainter,  soon 
disappearing  entirely  in  the  distance  and  leaving  us  once  more 
a  fresh,  free  sort  of  feeling  that,  perfectly  natural  to  the  region, 
seems  to  defy  ennui. 

Thursday  the  25th.  Alas  !  that  I  should  be  obliged  to  spend 
such  a  day  in  such  a  place.  I  shall  hardly  dare  to  suggest  to  you 
that  it  is  Thanksgiving  Day,  but  here  I  am  in  an  English  province, 
beyond  the  American  frontier,  where  Americans  seldom  go,  to  say 
nothing  of  carrying  their  holidays  with  them ;  in  a  land,  the 
people  of  which  are  too  poor  to  celebrate  to  any  great  extent 
should  they  ever  feel  inclined,  while  living  too  far  away  to  pass  the 
time  in  compKmentary  calls ;  in  famihes,  whose  chief  diet  through- 
out the  year  consists  of  bread,  without  any  butter,  and  tea,  with- 
out any  sugar, — excepting  what  game  may  fortunately  be  cap- 
tured ;  where  breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper  are  the  same ;  in  such 
a  locahty,  though  with  the  better  class  of  residents,  I  pass  my 
Thanksgiving.  That  I  may  not  think  myself  worse  off  even  than  I 
really  am,  I  cut  a  slice  of  cold  roast  pork,  and  imagine  it  the  best  of 
turkey ;  another  slice  answers  for  chicken ;  while  a  third  stands 
equally  well  for  mince  pie.  I  then  start  for  the  woodpile  where 
I  work  off  the  effects  of  so  hearty  an  exercise,  as  the  eating  of  all 
these  delicacies,  by  sawing  wood  for  the  remainder  of  the  after- 
noon.    Thus  ends  a  Labrador,  New  England  Thanksgiving. 

During  the  remaining  days  of  the  month  nothing  particular  has 
happened  save  that  the  goodman  of  the  house  where  I  am  stop- 
ping has  been  in  bed  sick.  The  first  of  the  month,  however,  finds 
him  much  improved. 

Wednesday,  December  i.  Although  it  is  very  cold  the  bay  shows 
no  signs  of  freezing  yet.  These  winter  evenings  the  children  amuse 
themselves  with  games.  Many  of  our  New  England  and  other  games 
find  favor,  though  dominoes  seems  to  take  precedence  of  all 
others.  Checkers  are  played  quite  frequently.  Of  course  cards  are 
the  prevailing  game  along  the  coast,  and  the  old  "stand-bys"  seem 
to  be  ''high  low  Jack"  and  ''forty-five,"  the  latter  being  apparently 
a  characteristic  Newfoundland  game,  as  Newfoundlanders  indulge 


THE  "KOMATIK."  145 


in  it  at  all  times  of  the  night  or  day,  and  are  apparently  never  too 
tired  to  play  when  they  can  "form  a  hand,"  and 

"When  once  agoing, 
With  pipes  aglowing, 
They  sit  it  out  till  morning." 

Thursday  the  2d.  The  boys  and  young  fellows  harnessed  the 
dogs  for  the  first  time  to-night,  but  did  not  use  them  much.  As 
I  have  a  few  hours  to  spare  I  will  try  to  describe  here  the  komatik 
or  dog  sledge  and  its  use,  as  also  the  racket  or  snow  shoe  of  this 
region. 

In  winter  the  greater  part  of  the  travelling  is  done  in  one  of  two 
ways  :  either  on  sledges  called  "komatiks,"  drawn  by  dogs,  or  on 
large  pads  that  are  called  "  racquets,"  and  which  are  worn  upon 
the  feet.  As  each  of  these  requires  a  special  description,  I  will 
try  to  give  one. 

The  komatik,  as  has  been  said,  is  a  sort  of  sledge  or  sled,  and 
looks  very  much  like  a  magnified  specimen  of  one  of  those  latter 
articles.  Its  dimensions  vary  from  nine  to  thirteen  feet  in  length, 
from  two  to  three  feet  in  width,  and  it  stands  about  eight  inches 
from  the  ground.  The  wood  is  wholly  pine,  and  the  side  bars  are 
cut  out  of  thin  deal-board,  planed  down  to  about  one  or  rarely  two 
inches  in  thickness,  with  the  front  ends  turned  up  like  the  front  run- 
ner of  a  sled ;  the  sides  are  often  bevelled  so  that  the  bottom  is 
one-fourth  or  one-half  an  inch  wider  than  the  top.  The  upper  part 
of  the  sled  is  made  of  a  number  of  thin  pieces  of  wood  (usually 
thirty-two)  of  equal  length  and  about  four  inches  in  width,  with  the 
ends  rounded,  and  then  notched — for  a  purpose  that  will  appear 
hereafter.  The  top  and  bottom  pieces  are  similar,  but  of  double 
the  width,  while  the  thickness  of  all  is  about  the  same,  generally 
one-half  an  inch,  though  the  end  pieces  are  perhaps  a  little  the 
thicker.  Each  piece  has  two  pair  of  holes  bored  through  it  on 
either  end,  the  distance  between  each  pair  being  that  of  the  width 
of  the  top  of  the  side  bar,  and  the  distance  between  each  hole  of 
each  pair  about  half  an  inch ;  between  each  pair  it  is  then  gouged 
out  crosswise  about  one-fourth  of  an  inch  deep,  while  the  inner 
10 


146  HOW  THE  KOMATIK  IS  MADE. 

pair  is  recrossed  at  right  angles  by  another  gouge,  the  purpose  of 
which  will  soon  be  seen.  A  curious  fact  is  that  all  these  holes  are 
bored  out  with  a  red  hot  iron  to  make  them  smooth  and  even.  On 
the  side  bars,  at  a  regular  and  previously  measured  distance  apart, 
are  bored  holes  to  the  exact  number  of  the  crossbars.  The  holes 
are  bored,  one  a  little  above,  and  the  next  a  little  below  the  pre- 
ceding one,  so  that  when  done  the  whole  presents  two  unequal 
rows  as  here  shown,  .•.•.•.*.•.*.•.  hence  the  liability 
of  thus  splitting  the  soft  pine  in  the  sewing  process  is  lessened. 

The  next  work  is  sewing  the  parts  together :  for  this  a  coarse 
salmon  net  twine  is  threaded  into  a  needle  used  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  each  crossbar  is  sewed  into  the  corresponding  hole 
in  the  side  bar,  in  and  out  of  the  holes  on  either  side  of  the  bar 
itself,  and  drawn  as  tight  as  possible ;  the  needle  then  slips  under 
the  twine  tlirough  the  groove  across  the  inner  pair  of  holes,  and  a 
loop  and  a  stout  pull  fasten  it ;  thus  each  bar  is  sewed  on  till  all 
are  tight, — but  we  have  not  yet  finished.  The  forward  end  of 
each  side  bar  must  be  strengthened  by  a  long,  thin  iron  placed 
lengthwise  along  the  inner  side  of  each  bar  (this  is  the  usual  and 
best  way  of  strengthening  the  ends),  and  screwed  tight  to  the 
boards.     Then  come  the  shoes. 

Every  komatik  has  shoes  or  runners  as  do  our  sleds,  but  unlike 
them  they  are  of  whalebone.  Whales  are  so  often  found  dead 
on  different  parts  of  the  coast  and  towed  to  some  harbor  where  the 
flesh  is  cut  up  for  the  dogs,  and  the  bones  saved  for  various  pur- 
poses, that  the  large  rib-bones  have  become  a  regular  article  of 
commerce  among  the  people ;  the  bones  are  some  eight  or  ten 
feet  long  and  nearly  or  quite  a  foot  wide,  with  perhaps  two  inches 
of  thickness.  These  bones  are  obtained,  then  strips  the  full 
length  and  an  inch  and  a  half  wide  are  sawed  off,  and  being 
trimmed  they  answer  perfectly  for  runners.  With  a  gimlet,  holes 
are  bored  through  them  about  six  inches  apart,  and  they  are  fas- 
tened to  the  bar,  which  is  also  bored  into,  to  correspond,  by  small 
pointed  wooden  pegs  driven  tightly  down ;  the  knobs  of  the  pegs 
are  then  sawed  off,  and  the  sides  of  the  runners,  if  they  overlap, 


HARNESSING  THE  DOGS.  147 

are  pared  and  the  bottoms  planed  smooth.  From  the  forward 
end  of  the  bone  a  small  portion  of  each  runner  is  trimmed  down 
thin  almost  to  the  board,  and  to  this  a  piece  of  hoop  iron  is  fas- 
tened which  is  brought  around  over  the  point  of  the  bar  and  cut  off 
close  to  the  first  crossbar;  it  is  then  pegged,  through  holes,  or 
screwed  down.  This  part  of  the  bar  never  touches  the  ground, 
being  curved  slightly  upward  ;  then  with  a  hole  through  each  side  bar 
at  the  end,  like  our  sleds,  through  which  to  pass  a  rope  if  needed, 
and  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  paint,  our  komatik  is  complete. 

A  komatik  is  drawn  by  harnessed  dogs,  and  it  is  a  strange  sight 
to  see  one  of  these  hobgoblin,  arctic  turnouts  travelling  at  a  smart 
pace  over  the  ice  and  snow  of  the  frozen  bays  from  place  to  place, 
and  watch  the  eight,  seven,  to  even  three  or  two  dogs,  attached  to 
the  sled  by  a  long  thin  thong  only,  trotting  or  galloping  along 
many  rods  in  front.  You  would  hardly  believe,  at  first  sight,  that 
the  two  belonged  together,  but  rather  that  some  fairy  means  of  con- 
veyance had  suddenly  dropped  from  above,  or  appeared  from  an  un- 
seen corner  below,  and  was  travelling  off  on  some  mysterious  Arabian 
Night's  adventure  ;  and  truly,  the  snow-capped  hills,  the  icy  and  snowy 
plain  of  frozen  sea,  add  to  this  not  unpleasant  romantic  delusion. 
A  close  inspection  will  show  that  each  dog  is  encased  with  a  thin, 
narrow  band  harness  that  simply  goes  around  the  body  at  the  belly, 
with  another  piece  going  around  the  neck  and  around  and  between 
the  legs,  which  is  fastened  to  the  former  beneath  ;  on  the  top  of  each 
a  long  band  reaching  to  the  length  of  several  rods  follows  on  be- 
hind with  a  loop  at  the  very  end.  Each  dog  is  thus  harnessed. 
The  komatik  also  has  a  band  fastened  near  the  front  crossbar  by  holes 
in  the  runner,  and  buttoned  together  with  a  loop  and  an  angular 
button.  The  loop  on  the  end  of  each  long  dog  band  is  passed 
over  the  button  of  this  komatik  band,  the  button  fastened  in  the  slit, 
and  the  team  is  ready.  One  dog  is  always  fastened  some  distance  in 
front  of  the  others  and  is  styled  the  leader ;  the  others  are  fastened 
at  various  distances  apart,  but  always  many  rods  in  advance  of  the 
sled.  The  team  is  guided  usually  by  the  voice,  with  or  without  a 
whip  of  the  Esquimaux  make  or  pattern,  many  yards  in  length  on 


148  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HARNESS. 

a  short  handle ;  with  a  circle  of  thick  rope  to  throw  over  the  run- 
ners and  impede  the  progress  of  the  sled  in  case  of  accident  or  sud- 
den desire  to  stop,  and  which  is  called  a  drag ;  and  a  long  stick 
with  which  to  pound  and  sound  the  surface  of  the  ice  to  see  if  it 
be  safe  to  cross  in  doubtful  places,  the  team  is  ready  to  start. 

One  would  think  that  such  narrow  bands  as  these  of  which  the  har- 
nesses are  made  would  be  easily  broken  ;  but  though  the  width  is  sel- 
dom three-eighths  of  an  inch,  the  sealskin,  of  which  they  are  made, 
is  so  tough,  stout,  and  unyielding,  that  they  will  wear  rather  than 
break  apart.  A  trace,  as  it  is  called,  is  often  seventy  or  more  feet 
long ;  and  when  you  consider  that  a  large  muscular  dog  is  either 
dashing  forward  in  short,  quiet  leaps,  or  straining  his  utmost  to 
draw  a  komatik  on  which  a  load  of  eight  hundred  pounds  and  over  is 
often  fastened  (three  barrels  of  flour  and  other  things  being  often 
taken  at  a  load),  you  can  judge  somewhat  of  the  strength  of  these 
thongs.  If  the  going  is  bad  the  strain  is  in  all  probability  more  than 
doubled.  I  have  said  before  that  the  thong  wears  rather  than 
breaks,  and  when  it  does  give  way  it  is  more  often  by  the  weak- 
ness of  some  closely  thinned  place  or  the  rotting  of  some  portion 
of  the  trace  than  by  any  other  means.  Sealskin  thong  is  used  every- 
where for  rope,  when  it  can  be  procured,  for  tying  or  binding.  No 
wonder  that  the  old  legends,  which  till  now  I  had  regarded  as  such 
in  reality,  were  more  than  true,  when  Indians  bound  their  captives 
to  trees  quickly  with  deerskin  bands  (for  deerskin  is  nearly  as  tough 
as  sealskin,  though  it  perhaps  gives  more  easily),  which  it  was 
impossible  for  them  to  break.  The  quickest  and  easiest  to  make, 
yet  surest  tie  is  called  a  double  half-hitch ;  the  rope  is  doubled 
over  itself  in  two  loops  with  both  ends  projecting  from  the  inner 
side  of  the  loop.  It  is  made  in  about  three  seconds,  and  the  more 
one  tries  to  stretch  it  the  tighter  it  becomes,  especially  if  the  cut 
ends  are  fastened  to  some  object  behind  or  even  to  themselves. 
But  the  dogs  (these  wretched  half-breed  of  Esquimaux  and  wolf 
perhaps,  that  spend  the  greater  part  of  their  time  in  fighting  each- 
other,  to  whom  play  is  fight  and  fight  death,  and  I  do  not  exag- 
gerate these  brutal  furies)  have  started,  and  the  footmen  follow. 


THE  RACKET  OR  "RACQUET."  149 

The  foot,  as  I  have  said,  is  encased  with  a  pad  called  a 
"  racquet."  It  is  a  bent  bow  of  wood  with  two  crossbars,  the  in- 
tervening spaces  being  thickly  woven  of  deerskin  thong,  except  a 
small  opening  where  the  toe  goes,  and  which  is  below  the  middle 
of  the  upper  bar.  There  are  great  varieties  of  form,  called  usually 
from  some  fancied  resemblance  to  the  tail  of  an  animal.  The 
beaver,  the  otter,  the  porcupine,  and  the  bobtailed  rackets  are  used 
perhaps  more  frequently  than  any  others  about  this  coast,  though 
the  long  racket  is  used  throughout  many  of  the  Canadian  prov- 
inces. 

In  walking  one  takes  the  usual  step,  though  perhaps  a  longer 
one  than  otherwise,  having  the  feet  much  farther  apart,  and  in  the 
walking  position  the  convex  portion  of  the  top  part  of  the  racket 
of  the  hind  foot  fits  almost  exactly  into  the  concave  portion  of  the 
bottom  part  of  the  racket  of  the  front  foot.  In  stepping,  the 
wide  part  of  each  pad  passes  over  that  of  the  other;  you  will 
thus  easily  see  that  in  hurried  walking,  if  each  step  does  not  at  first 
clear  the  racket  of  the  other  foot,  it  is  impossible  to  take  a  step 
with  that  foot  which  thus  sustains  the  whole  weight  of  the  body, 
and  the  impetus  given  to  the  body  invariably  plunges  one  down 
into  the  snow.  With  the  swinging  motion  necessitated  by  the 
unusual  space  between  the  feet,  a  little  practice  soon  accustoms 
one  to  walking  easily  over  the  lightest  and  deepest  snow  if  it  be 
dry,  as  it  usually  is  here,  and  not  wet  and  sloppy. 

A  short  time  since  the  dogs  were  ready  to  start  off  on  a  journey 
or  trip  with  their  master  or  driver ;  and  now  several  strong  men 
without  stooping,  and  with  a  motion  peculiar  to  habit  from  long 
practice,  drop  their  rackets  upon  the  ground  and  adjust  their  feet 
in  them, — now  both  start  together  for  the  trip.  The  going  is  not 
very  good  for  the  sledge,  and  the  runners  cut  deep  ruts  in  the  snow, 
already  upon  the  ground  to  the  depth  of  over  a  foot  on  a  level, 
as  it  is  slowly  passed  over.  The  dogs  travel  with  difficulty,  and 
need  constant  urging  from  their  driver  who  keeps  up  a  continual 
shouting  and  crying  out  at  them. 

A  string  of  a  dozen  or  more  rapidly  repeated  words  which  sound 


150  HOW  TO  DRIVE  THE  DOGS. 

more  like  a  series  of  At,  hi,  hi,  hi,  etc.,  or  ki,  i,  i,  i,  i,  etc.,  sends  the 
troop  off  at  a  quick  pace,  while  the  leader  is  easily  turned  to  the 
left  by  a  series  of  sounds,  of  which  either  rudder,  rudder,  rudder, 
or  da,  da,  da,  da,  da,  or  udder,  udder,  udder,  udder,  seems  to  be 
the  only  interpretation  (I  have  found  no  one  yet  that  can  tell  me 
the  exact  word  used)  ;  and  to  the  right,  by  another  sound  like 
ouk,  ouk,  ouk,  or  owk,  owk,  owk,  repeated  in  a  hollow,  guttural 
tone.  These  are  the  regular  sounds  for  guiding  the  leader,  while 
a  continual  shouting  or  clapping  of  hands  and  a  variety  of  any 
small  words  are  poured  forth  till  one  would  easily  imagine  the 
driver  to  have  seriously  shouted  himself  hoarse.  If  any  object 
appears  in  the  distance,  this  too  is  a  theme  for  the  urging  forward 
of  the  dogs,  who  seem  to  go  well  enough  without  all  this  noise. 
A  crow  flying  close  along  the  ground,  and  a  komatik  in  the  distance 
share  alike  the  o-look',  o-look  (which  is  grunted  rather  than  spoken 
out) ,  crow,  crow,  or  caw,  caw,  caw,  or  ko7naiik,  komatik,  ko77iatik, 
to  which  is  often  appended  a  single  shrill  hi.  Whether  the  dogs 
need  this  constant  urging,  or  whether  it  be  a  custom  that  seems 
to  have  been  handed  down  or  not,  I  cannot  conceive.  Mean- 
while the  men  who  are  walking  have  nearly  or  quite  kept  up  with 
the  sled.  The  long  strides  enable  one  easily  to  double  the  ordinary 
walk  of  a  person,  so  those  behind  have  kept  quite  near.  On  they 
both  go  —  the  dogs  at  a  smart  trot  which  occasionally  breaks  into 
a  gallop,  and  the  men  who  present  a  truly  comical  appearance  as 
they  press  forward  swinging  their  legs  with  their  huge  appendages 
and  their  arms,  occasionally  their  whole  bodies,  with  the  violence  of 
the  exercise.  The  wind,  which  blows  the  light  snow  on  the  top 
of  the  thick  crust  of  the  late  storm  in  whirls  and  clouds  all  about 
them,  sings  around  their  ears  and  faces,  making  the  one  tingle, 
though  encased  in  a  warm  covering,  and  the  other  ruddy  with  the 
glow  of  health.  It  is  foolishness  for  one  to  venture  off  in  such 
weather,  as  is  here  of  every-day  occurrence,  without  a  sufficient 
amount  of  good  thick  and  warm  clothing  ;  and  even  the  dogs  seem 
to  be  provided  by  nature  with  an  unusually  thick  coat  of  long  flow- 


A  "TRIP."  151 


ing  hair  as  their  best  protection  from  the  severe  cold  Hable  to  occur 
here  at  ahnost  any  time  with  a  few  hours'  notice. 

A  journey  of  six  to  ten  miles  brings  them  to  their  destination, 
and  then  a  halt  is  made.  The  trip  may  be  simply  to  a  neigh- 
bor for  some  visit,  or  to  borrow  or  return  some  loaned  article, 
or  it  may  be  to  the  provision  depot  for  a  supply  of  goods  or 
articles  for  the  use  of  the  family.  The  molasses  keg  needs  re- 
filling or  the  tea  chest  is  empty,  perhaps  the  butter  is  all  gone,  or 
soap,  matches,  or  broken  dishes  need  replacing  with  new  supplies. 
Often  the  men  are  out  of  tobacco  which,  to  them  at  least,  is  a  neces- 
sary article,  when  the  greater  portion  of  the  time  is  occupied  in 
filling  the  room  with  volumes  of  deep  blue  smoke  while  assembled 
around  a  (almost  literally)  blazing  hot  stove  telling  stories  or 
silently  enjoying  the  smoke  and  passing  time  away.  It  may  be 
that  the  housewife  needs  a  new  dress,  or  the  children  extra  cloth- 
ing, while  often  warm  shirts  and  mittens  of  swanskin  are  to  be 
procured  for  both.  At  any  rate  the  articles  are  obtained,  often,  I 
am  sorry  (for  the  families'  sake)  to  say,  on  credit  of  next  year's 
*'  ketch"  of  fish,  and  the  little  party  turns  toward  home  again,  which 
is  soon  reached,  as  are  also  the  warm  fire,  the  hot  supper,  and  bed. 


152  A  TRAMP, 


CHAPTER  X. 


Trip  up  the  River  to  the  Mission  —  Ice  pictures  —  Bad  walking  —  On  the 
Old  Fort  —  New  scenes  and  bad  walking — Pleasant  Sunday  —  The 
return  —  Journal  —  A  komatik  ride  —  Christmas  gathering  —  Wood  cut- 
ting—  Work  for  the  evenings — Making  sealskin  boots,  mittens,  and 
other  needful  and  fancy  work. 


Saturday  the  4th.  With  one  of  the  men  I  started  to-day  on  a 
tramp  up  the  river  to  the  Mission  station,  about  seven  miles  dis- 
tant. It  seemed  good  to  be  on  the  move  once  again,  although  we 
got  much  more  of  it  than  we  had  expected  before  the  day  was 
ended.  The  river  was  frozen  but  a  part  of  the  distance,  so  we 
were  obhged  to  go  by  boat  to  the  land  at  its  mouth.  It  did  not 
take  long,  however,  to  get  the  boat  ready,  and  we  were  soon 
on  our  way.  At  first  we  rowed  through  the  soft  masses  of  ice  that 
coated  the  water  everywhere  around  the  north  side  of  the  island, 
but  finding  this  passage  closed  with  ice  too  thick  for  our  boat  to 
break,  we  retraced  our  way,  and,  fortunately,  found  the  passage  on 
the  other  side  clear  all  the  distance  to  the  land  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  bay.  The  ice  that  seriously  impedes  passage  at  this 
season  of  the  year  is  called  here  slob.  It  is  a  thick,  consistent 
mass  of  frozen  salt-water  that  Hes  in  huge  patches  all  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  from  land  to  land.  While  in  this  soft  condition 
it  is  easily  rowed  through  \  but  the  danger  is,  that,  as  the  cold 
strengthens  at  any  time  of  the  day  or  night,  it  is  liable  to  congeal 
suddenly,  even  at  a  few  moments'  warning,  when  it  grows  harder 
and  thicker  every  hour.  If  a  boat  is  within  it,  the  congealed 
mass  has  at  times  been  known  to  surround  it  so  as  to  prevent  es- 
cape.    The  mass  is  thus  too  hard  to  allow  the  men  to  rescue  their 


MAGNIFICENT  SCENERY.  153 

heavy  boat,  and  too  soft  to  walk  upon.  The  whole  sheet,  mean- 
while, cracked  from  the  edge  on  either  side,  slowly  but  surely 
moves  with  the  current  until  it  is  gradually  taken  out  to  sea  to 
be  lost  in  the  gulf  or  ocean.  Judge  then  the  fate  of  those  unfor- 
tunate beings  who  have  remained  in  the  boat,  thus  inclosed,  mov- 
ing only  when  it  moves,  halting  only  when  it  halts. 

The  passage  on  the  west  side  of  the  island,  as  I  have  said,  was 
fortunately  clear,  so  that  we  gained  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay 
without  accident  or  delay.  This  left  us  half-way  to  our  place  of 
destination,  the  remainder  to  be  tramped  over  the  hills,  with  snow 
knee-deep  to  opposite  the  houses,  to  which  we  must  get  by  shouting 
for  a  boat  to  come  and  take  us  over  should  the  water  between 
be  open,  as  we  had  reason  to  fear.  Having  called  at  a  house 
of  one  of  the  inhabitants  near  by  to  deliver  some  messages,  we 
returned  and  began  our  walk,  or  rather  tramp,  over  the  partially 
frozen  ice  of  the  river  at  this  point  and  towards  the  hills  beyond, 
over  which  we  were  obliged  to  travel. 

I  have  read,  in  books  of  arctic  travel,  of  snow-capped  hills  and 
of  snow-filled  valleys ;  of  rivers  and  bays  frozen  over  with  dark, 
semi-transparent  salt-water  ice,  but  never  before  had  I  experienced 
the  pleasure  of  beholding  its  reality.  Now  I  saw  them  in  all  the 
half-frozen  splendor  of  a  semi-arctic  latitude.  I  could  also  tramp 
over  their  treacherous  surfaces  with  a  feeling  of  perfect  safety 
knowing  that  the  distance  to  the  houses  up  the  river  was  not  far. 

The  walking  was  by  no  means  easy.  We  first  crossed  the  river 
on  the  ice  which  at  this  point  was  sufficiently  strong  to  bear  us. 
The  ice  was  not  very  solid,  and  big  holes  and  huge  cracks  were 
to  be  seen  everywhere  about  us,  so  that  it  required  a  great  deal  of 
manoeuvring  to  find  secure  footing  and  a  safe  passage  between 
them.  We  would  walk  along  safely  enough  for  some  distance, 
and  then  the  dark  colored  patches  of  water,  seen  on  the  surface 
of  the  snow,  would  show  us  where  the  dangerous  places  were ; 
then  again  the  ice  contained  large  cracks,  and  we  were  obliged  to 
prove  its  solidity  with  a  stick  before  trusting  our  feet  to  step  upon 
it.     Sometimes   the  ice  would  be   as   large   floating  cakes  when 


164  DIFFICULT  WALKING. 

we  were  compelled  to  jump  swiftly  to  get  safe  from  one  to  an- 
other, each  step  sending  the  cake  deep  into  the  water  beneath,  so 
that  the  person  behind  would  be  obliged  to  wait  until  it  had  re- 
gained its  position  once  again  before  attempting  a  similar  passage. 

Along  the  edges  of  the  river  the  ice  had  formed  and  cracked 
again,  leaving  the  walking  very  dangerous  as  well  as  difficult ;  this 
often  necessitated  the  climbing  of  long,  steep,  icy  slopes  before 
gaining  a  secure  footing.  Then  again  the  ice  had  formed  over 
beds  of  sharp  rocks,  often  at  high  tide,  and  the  water  retreating 
had  undermined  the  support,  when  suddenly,  while  walking  over 
these,  they  would  give  way  and  we  would  fall  often  several  feet 
on  the  rocks  below,  making  most  treacherous  as  also  dangerous 
travelling.  Again  long  open  stretches  of  water  would  compel 
us  to  go  by  the  land,  either  around  some  inland  pond  or  lac  sale. 
(salt  lake,  as  the  people  call  these  inlets  of  the  sea,  and  of 
which  there  are  so  many  all  along  the  coastline),  or  over  some 
low  and  narrow,  or  high  strip  of  land  to  the  river  again.  Some- 
times we  would  crawl  along  the  edge  of  some  high  and  sloping, 
or  steep  and  rocky  crest,  often  coming  suddenly  to  the  brink  of  a 
precipitous  height  of  twenty  to  thirty  feet,  where  a  single  false 
step  would  have  sent  us  to  the  rocks  or  sharp  ice  below ;  or 
perhaps  we  would  suddenly  sink  to  our  armpits  into  some  con- 
cealed, snow-covered  spruce  thicket,  from  which  we  would  ex- 
tricate ourselves  only  with  great  difficulty. 

From  some  high  hilltop  we  could  see  lofty  crests  sloping  to  some 
narrow  or  often  perpendicular  cut,  through  which  the  river,  now 
frozen  and  now  with  open  glistening  waters,  ran  towards  the  sea,  a 
distant  maze  on  our  south.  A  mile  or  so  ahead  we  could  see  the 
buildings,  and  the  white  church  with  its  steeple,  of  the  little  Mission 
station.  Here  are  about  a  dozen  buildings  where  many  of  the 
families  that  live  upon  the  islands  outside  in  the  summer,  together 
with  the  foreigners  who  conduct  the  school  and  Sunday  church 
services,  pass  their  winter  quite  cosily  and  more  or  less  merrily 
in  teaching  and  being  taught. 

It  was  a  difficult  tramp,  but  a  delightful   one.     At  length  we 


RESTING:  THEN  ON  AGAIN.  155 

reached  a  position  on  the  hills  directly  opposite  the  houses  on  the 
other  bank.  After  a  great  deal  of  hallooing  and  shooting  blank 
discharges  of  powder  from  our  guns,  a  boat  started  out  from  the 
other  side,  and  slowly  approached  us  ;  soon  we  were  on  the  oppo- 
site side  and  close  beside  a  nice  warm  fire,  drying  our  wet  clothes 
and  partaking  of  the  hospitality  of  a  kind-hearted  inhabitant  of  this 
little  settlement. 

Here  I  found  two  young  men  who  were  destined  for  the  same 
point  that  I  hoped  to  reach  that  night,  so  I  decided  to  avail 
myself  of  the  opportunity  and  accompany  them. 

We  first  called  on  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  place,  and 
found  them  cordial  and  genial  people,  well  meaning  and  hospitable 
to  strangers.  I  found  myself  invited  to  partake  of  bread  and  tea  at 
each  place,  and  at  last  was  obliged  to  refuse  absolutely  even  the  tea 
which  was  thus  generously  pressed  upon  me,  and  which  is  the 
beverage  so  abundantly  partaken  of  all  along  this  coast.  At  last 
we  had  finished  all  our  calls,  for  the  present  at  least,  and  so  we  all 
started  for  Old  Fort  Bay,  seven  miles  distant  across  the  river,  the  hills, 
and  several  ponds.  Since  our  journey  presents  a  continuation  of 
the  one  I  had  just  taken,  except  inland  instead  of  along  the  di- 
rect coast  line,  I  will  try  to  give  you  some  idea  of  it. 

The  scenery  here  is  very  similar  to  that  we  had  just  witnessed, 
with  the  same  features  of  frozen  river  and  lakes,  and  journeyings 
over  hills  and  snowy  slopes ;  but  there  was  enough  variety  to 
make  the  trip  new  and  pleasant,  rather  than  full  of  tedious  mo- 
notony. 

We  started  on  our  journey  by  rounding  the  bend  of  the  river 
which  had  this  year  been  frozen  over  earlier  than  usual,  when  we 
came  at  once  upon  a  long  stretch  of  open  ice.  In  this  part  of  the 
river,  as  in  fact  in  any  of  these  salt-water  lake  basins,  the  water  usu- 
ally freezes  several  times  before  it  finally  becomes  caught  on  either 
side.  Each  time  it  freezes,  the  soft  ice  loosens  and  goes  floating  down 
the  river ;  thus  several  days  of  alternate  freezing  and  open  water 
occur  usually  before  the  ice  finally  catches  for  the  winter.  Strange 
to  say,  this  year  the  ice  caught  and  held  the  first  time,  and  so,  as 


156  BETWEEN  THE  MISSION  AND  OLD  FORT. 

we  were  yet  quite  early  in  the  season,  we  walked  over  a  freshly 
frozen  yet  perfectly  solid  surface  in  the  direction  in  which  we  were 
going. 

We  had  hardly  rounded  the  turn  before  one  of  the  fellows, 
whose  eyes  had  in  this  case  been  sharpened  by  expectancy,  espied 
the  fresh  tracts  of  the  ptarmigan  in  the  snow  of  the  left  bank  of 
the  river ;  but  of  course  the  birds  had  long  since  gone.  Un- 
doubtedly they  were  not  far  off,  though  we  had  no  time  to  hunt 
them  up.  We  continued  our  walk,  therefore,  enjoying  the  clear, 
cool,  and  healthy  air  while  drinking  in  the  unusual  sights,  at  least 
to  me,  of  hummocks  and  hillocks  rising  in  the  distance,  one  above 
another,  and  stretching  one  beyond  another,  with  varying  gorges, 
and  again  solid  walls  of  granite,  into  the  distance  beyond.  After 
travelling  an  hour  with  such  views  constantly  presented  to  us  on 
either  hand,  we  passed  a  little  ridge  of  ground  and  came  to  another 
so-called  lac  sale,  a  bend  in  the  river  almost  converted  into  a  lake 
by  the  stricture  at  its  mouth.  Passing  over  the  frozen  surface  of 
the  lake  we  came  to  another  ridge  which,  passed,  brought  us  again 
to  water — this  time  a  pond.  A  succession  of  two  or  three  of 
these  ponds  crossed  by  low,  narrow  ridges  of  rising  ground  brought 
us  to  the  head  of  the  eastern  arm  of  Old  Fort  Bay,  which  we 
found  barely  frozen,  and  for  the  most  part  a  terrible  mixture  of 
broken  ice,  rocks,  and  water.  We  had  great  difficulty  in  getting 
from  the  ice  to  the  shore,  as  the  cracks  were  large,  and  very  wide ; 
but  we  succeeded  in  doing  so  at  last,  when  we  found  ourselves  at 
the  foot  of  a  large,  heavy  ridge  of  hills  which  extended  for  the 
remainder  of  the  distance  between  us  and  our  destination,  varying 
from  four  to  five  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  by  no  means  easy  to 
ascend.  Had  it  been  high  tide  our  way  would  have  certainly  led 
over  these  hills,  as  their  perpendicular  faces  towards  the  water 
would  have  rendered  walking  in  that  direction  entirely  out  of  the 
question  ;  while  the  way  would  have  been  picked  out  only  with  the 
greatest  of  care  in  the  dusk  of  evening,  in  which  we  would  walk 
among  spruce  thickets,  over  stones,  and  down  steep  declivities, 
quite  dangerous  indeed  in  the  daytime. 


TREACHEROUS  WALKING.  157 

We  had  no  boat  by  which  we  could  row  the  short  distance  now 
separating  us  from  the  house  to  which  we  were  going.  The  tide  was 
dead  low.  On  we  went,  the  stones  and  corners  of  the  rocks  hurting 
our  feet — for  we  wore  the  dogskin  boots  of  the  Esquimaux, — 
while  the  huge  cakes  of  broken  ice  often  caused  us  to  stumble  in 
quite  a  hopeless  manner.  Again,  in  spite  of  the  low  tide,  the 
cliffs  came  almost  down  to  the  water,  and  we  were  frequently 
obliged  to  wade  in  the  water  up  to  our  knees  and  much  above  the 
top  of  our  boots,  or  climb  over  most  dangerous  places  at  the  risk 
of  slipping  down  into  the  water  beneath.  To  add  to  the  dis- 
agreeableness  of  our  situation  the  darkness  now  became  so  dense 
that  we  could  scarcely  see  a  couple  of  rods  ahead ;  and  this  was 
what  we  termed  luck  being  on  our  side  against  walking  over  the 
tops  of  the  high  hills  before  mentioned ;  but  we  stood  it  man- 
fully, and  at  last  reached  the  little  basin  just  before  the  bend  that 
would  bring  us  to  the  shore.  Here  the  ice  was  quite  fresh,  being 
formed  from  a  little  brook  that  runs  into  this  natural  or  perhaps 
artificial  hollow.  It  was  here  so  slippery  that  we  could  hardly 
stand  upon  it,  while  the  broken  cakes  made  the  walking  almost 
impossible.  We  stumbled  and  fell,  then  tried  to  climb  up  the 
slippery  inclines  only  to  fall  quite  back  again.  I  think  that  that 
little  distance  of  scarce  a  mile  and  a  half,  from  the  head  of  the 
bay  to  the  house  to  which  we  were  going,  cost  me  more  severe 
travelling  and  labor  to  attain,  than  any  other  similar  trip  that 
I  ever  remember  of  taking  in  my  life  ;  but  we  reached  it  at  last. 

It  seems  to  me  almost  as  if  I  could  recollect  each  individual 
step  of  the  way,  and  sitting  in  a  cosey  chair  by  a  large  snapping 
fire,  I  wondered  how  I  had  the  strength  to  go  through  with  it 
after  the  twelve  steady  miles  that  I  had  already  tramped  since 
morning, —  and  of  such  tramping  !  To  give  an  idea  of  how  lit- 
tle these  strong,  robust  fellows  think  of  such  travelling,  one  of  the 
two  men  who  had  just  come  with  us  insisted  upon  returning  after 
tea  with  a  young  fellow  whom  we  met  here  and  who  was  going 
that  way.  Seven  o'clock  at  night  and  so  dark  that  one  could 
hardly  see  a  rod  ahead  !  over  slippery  ice   on   which  one  could 


158  SUNDAY  AT  OLD  FORT  — THE  RETURN. 

scarcely  stand  much  less  walk,  through  water  up  to  the  knees, 
crawling  over  ridges  of  rocks  to  fall  from  which  would  have  been 
indeed  dangerous,  then  five  miles  more  of  steady  tramping  be- 
fore reaching  home.  One  may  draw  his  own  conclusions  as  to 
the  endurance  of  these  men,  as  this  is  a  fair  sample  of  what  they 
will  do  every  day  for  weeks  at  a  time,  while  hunting,  without  any 
apparent  ill  effects. 

One  may  well  imagine  that  I  did  full  justice  to  the  nice,  hot 
supper  that  was  laid  out  before  me,  and  was  soon  after  snugly 
tucked  beneath  a  double  covering  of  heavy  blankets  to  seek  the 
rest  so  much  needed. 

Sunday,  the  next  day,  was  most  charming.  The  sun  came  out 
bright  and  warm  and  we  all  enjoyed  the  beautiful  weather.  We 
had  some  birds  for  dinner,  the  first  we  had  had  for  several  weeks. 
After  the  meal,  although  it  was  Sunday,  since  the  men  must  get 
back  to  their  work  the  next  day,  we  all  started  for  the  river  again. 
The  water  had  become  so  open  that  we  accomplished  the  worst 
part  of  the  journey  in  a  boat,  and  walked  the  remainder  in  com- 
parative ease  and  with  very  little  trouble,  reaching  the  Mission 
station  by  evening. 

I  will  not  say  much  regarding  the  Mission  here,  leaving  that  for 
another  place,  as  it  is  worthy  of  special  consideration.  I  simply 
called  upon  the  genial  people  there,  and  enjoyed  a  short  but  very 
pleasant  interview. 

I  left  a  small  stock  of  medicines  at  the  Mission  house,  having 
brought  some  with  me  from  home,  and  soon  started  off.  I  saw 
some  poultry  in  one  of  the  houses.  They  were  barred  up  and 
carefully  fed  upon  scraps  from  the  table.  The  hens  furnished 
a  few  eggs,  and  were  apparently  about  the  only  specimens  of 
this  species  of  fowl  on  this  part  of  the  coast.  Strange  as  it  may 
be,  on  the  lower  part  of  the  coast,  some  sixty  miles  below  this 
place,  I  found  hens  so  abundant — having  been  brought  over  from 
Newfoundland  —  that  I  purchased  several  dozen  of  eggs  for  the 
reasonable  sum  of  a  shilling,  or  twenty  cents,  a  dozen. 

At  the  house  of  one  of  the  inhabitants  where  we  stopped  to 


JOURNAL  — A  KOMATIK  RIDE.  159 

visit,  we  found  four  Indians  who  had  come  from  several  hundred 
miles  in  the  interior,  with  their  fall  catch  of  fur  to  trade  for  provisions. 
As  they  were  journeying  in  the  same  direction  with  us,  we  pro- 
ceeded on  together.  We  started  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon 
and,  after  a  tedious  tramp  over  the  hills,  reached  the  bend  of  the 
river,  found  the  boat,  and  were  soon  rowing  the  remaining  distance 
to  Bonne  Esperance  where  we  arrived  in  time  for  supper. 

Tuesday  the  7th.  The  Indians,  having  finished  their  trading, 
returned  home  this  afternoon. 

Saturday  the  nth.  A  small  party  went  out  in  the  boat  to-day 
and  shot  four  ducks  and  a  pigeon,  which  gave  us  a  taste  of  fresh 
meat  once  more. 

Monday  the  13th.  The  men  spent  a  greater  part  of  the  day  in 
mending  their  fish-nets. 

Tuesday  the  14th.  A  flock  of  ducks  appeared  just  off  the 
island,  and  we  got  a  shot  at  them  as  they  clustered,  killing  seven. 
In  the  evening  the  young  folks  amused  themselves  making  molasses 
candy,  while  the  elder  people  joined  heartily  with  them  in  the 
disposal  of  it. 

Friday  the  1 7th.  The  cow  was  killed  to-day,  and  we  had  the  first 
taste  of  beef  we  had  had  for  months. 

Friday  the  24th.  Yesterday  I  again  went  "into  the  river,"  as  it  is 
here  called  ;  that  is,  went  to  the  settlement  up  the  river,  and  to-day, 
the  ice  being  regarded  as  safe,  I  had  my  first  real  ride  on  the  Labra- 
dor dog  sledge,  or  komatik,  with  a  native  driver  as  guide.  Our  team 
was  a  small  one,  only  three  dogs,  but  they  drew  the  sled  so  fast 
that  it  might  have  been  twice  the  number  and  I  not  have  known 
it.  Along  the  ice  of  the  river  and  bays  we  glided,  over  low  hills 
and  across  snow  patches,  and  over  grass  and  moss  laid  bare  by  the 
wind ;  we  went,  literally,  "over  hill  and  dell,"  while  we  often  passed 
rapidly  places  flooded  with  water,  where  the  delay  of  an  instant 
would  have  sunk  the  sledge.  Now  up  some  steep  hill  we  helped 
to  pull  the  sled,  while  down  on  the  opposite  side  we  went 
faster  than  the  dogs  could  go  at  full  gallop.  On  across  the 
country  we  went,  until,  landing  upon  the  very  verge  of  a  high 


160  CHRISTMAS  EVENING. 

precipice,  we  were  obliged  to  come  to  a  halt.  Here  we  tied  the 
dogs,  turned  the  sled  bottom  upwards,  and  descended  the  slope 
by  a  narrow,  circuitous  path,  which  brought  us  to  the  house  of 
one  of  the  residents,  where  we  dined.  We  found  here  a  very  pleasant 
family,  two  members  of  which  had  spent  some  time  "in  the  States" 
in  good  society ;  after  enjoying  with  them  a  very  pleasant  chat, 
we  returned  to  the  sled  and  continued  our  journey.  I  was  amused 
to  see  the  eagerness  of  the  dogs  to  be  "  on  the  go  "  once  more. 
They  strained  at  their  harnesses,  and  whined  and  barked  while 
jumping,  with  the  evident  intention  of  either  starting  the  sled  or 
breaking  their  traces. 

Our  way  to  Old  Fort  Bay  lay  in  much  the  same  general  direction 
as  that  in  which  we  had  walked  a  few  days  before  ;  but  the  hills  are 
so  cut  up  with  gorges  that  come  nearly  to  their  base,  that  nature 
has  formed  four  different  routes  between  the  Mission  and  Old 
Fort  Bay.  The  scenery  was  quite  similar,  but  riding  we  had  more 
of  an  opportunity  to  take  in  the  arctic-like  views  everywhere  pre- 
sented. The  day  was  fine,  and  the  outline  of  the  hills  beyond 
was  very  decided  upon  a  clear  blue  sky.  We  appeared  to  be  rush- 
ing along  through  a  narrow,  winding  valley  road  with  receding 
heights  on  either  hand.  On  a  level  with  us,  yet  on  either  side 
near  the  base  of  the  hills,  the  falling  tide  had  caused  the  ice 
to  break  in  cones,  and  blocks  of  all  sorts  of  forms  and  sizes. 
Still  on  we  went,  the  ice  often  bending  beneath  us,  while  the  dogs 
reminded  one  of  childhood's  fairy  tales.  The  sight  was  grand, 
while  the  weather  was  fine,  cold,  and  with  little  wind.  The  inner  bay 
was  frozen  over,  and  we  rode  to  the  doorway  of  the  dwelling  for 
which  we  had  started. 

Christmas  evening  there  was  a  social  gathering  at  one  of  the 
houses  up  the  river.  About  fifty  people  were  present  and  passed 
a  very  pleasant  evening.  In  this  case  the  old  adage  that  "distance 
lends  enchantment  to  the  view"  was  well  illustrated.  Most  of  the 
inhabitants  live  at  distances  of  five  to  ten  miles  from  each  other, 
which  makes  calling  upon  one  another  a  circumstance  of  some 
importance.     When  once  people  do  get  out  on  such  an  occasion  as 


WOOD-CUTTING  IN  WINTER.         ,^^  *         161 

an  annual  Christmas  dance,  they  stay  long  enough  to  enjoy  the 
visit  thoroughly, —  they  did  so  on  this  occasion. 

Wednesday  the  29th.  Early  in  the  morning  we  started  off  with 
our  dog-team  for  the  bottom  of  the  bay.  Here  we  tied  the  dogs, 
and  with  our  axes  started  up  the  snow-covered  slope  of  the  hills 
to  where  the  spruces  and  firs  were  abundant.  None  of  the  wood  was 
large.  The  snow  was  up  to  our  knees ;  it  covered  the  evergreen 
thickets  with  dense  patches,  so  that  when  we  started  to  cut  a  tree 
the  shaking  would  dislodge  the  snow  in  large  patches  that  covered 
us  completely,  while  it  slowly  crept  down  our  backs  and  up  our 
sleeves.  Still  on  we  labored  until  we  had  loaded  the  sledge,  when 
all  started  for  home  with  appetites  sharpened  by  the  keen,  sub- 
arctic air  and  the  healthy  exercise.  It  was  quite  fortunate  that  we 
procured  our  wood  when  we  did,  for  Thursday  was  as  warm  as  it 
had  been  the  night  before,  and  the  ice,  so  much  melted,  began  to 
break  to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  the  travelling  extremely 
hazardous,  though  it  soon  froze  up  again. 

During  the  long  winter  months  the  women  of  the  house  spend 
their  evenings,  and  for  the  most  part  their  days  also,  in  making 
boots,  shoes,  and  nicknacks  of  various  kinds.  Of  course  they 
can  do  this,  since  their  time  is  almost  entirely  at  their  own  disposal, 
and,  after  the  regular  work  of  the  family  is  done,  the  remainder  of 
the  day  and  evening  falls  heavily  upon  anyone  of  a  naturally 
nervous  or  industrious  disposition.  The  location  of  the  dwelling 
forms  another  inducement  to  industry,  since  the  long  winter  eve- 
nings must  be  spent  entirely  within  doors,  and  work  of  some 
sort  must  be  constantly  provided. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  except  in  a  few  places,  such  as 
the  Mission  and  several  small  collections  of  houses  used  as  winter 
quarters  and  which  have  been  built  from  a  quarter  to  half  a  mile 
distant  from  each  other,  the  houses  are,  for  the  most  part,  miles 
apart,  and  visiting  in  the  evening  is  quite  out  of  the  question. 

It  is  comparatively  easy  to    point    out  the  industrious  portion 
of  the  female   population  of  the   coast ;    everyone   knows  them. 
To  substitute   fictitious  names  for  real,  Mrs.  Goodey  will   make 
11 


162  MAKING  SEALSKIN  BOOTS. 

fine  Esquimaux  sealskin  boots,  and  will  do  other  similar  work, 
though  attention  to  her  large  family  makes  it  impossible  for  her 
to  spare  much  of  her  time  for  outside  work.  Grannie  Roberts  is 
also  noted  for  her  nice,  careful  sewing  of  boots,  pouches,  or 
sealskin  bags  to  wear  on  the  back,  in  which  to  carry  provisions, 
game,  or  other  articles  that  the  hunters  may  require,  while  she  takes 
in  such  work  as  filling  pillow  cases  and  bed  ticks,  making  hunting  and 
warm  working  jackets  for  winter,  or  mending  socks,  mittens,  and 
other  articles  for  general  use  or  wear.  She  is  a  good  old  lady, 
and  thought  well  of  everywhere,  while  her  work  is  always  well 
and  cheaply  done,  and  her  nearly  fourscore  years  combined  with 
her  remarkable  cheerfulness  give  her  a  good  word  from  every- 
body on  the  coast.  Further  to  the  westward  work  from  Aunt 
Jane's  is  known  in  all  directions. 

If  I  have  described  elsewhere  a  pair  of  native  shoes,  as  they 
are  often  called,  a  brief  description  of  them  here  again  may  not 
be  out  of  place,  since  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  clear  under- 
standing of  the  process  of  making  them.  A  good  deal  more 
than  at  first  appears  to  a  purchaser  depends  upon  every  little  point 
in  the  operation.  To  begin, —  suppose  Grannie  Roberts  is  to  make 
a  pair  of  sealskin  boots  for  some  buyer.  From  a  lot  of  sealskins 
one  is  selected  either  from  a  harbor  seal  with  the  hair  on,  or  a 
large  harp  from  which  the  hair  has  all  been  scraped  off;  in  either 
case  the  skin,  to  be  the  most  serviceable,  must  be  well  scraped  of 
fat  on  the  inside  and  dried  for  two  or  three  months  on  some 
frame  on  which  it  has  been  stretched  to  its  fullest  extent  in  the 
sun,  exposed  on  the  woodpile  or  roof  of  the  house  (after  the  hair 
has  been  taken  off  if  a  harp,  and  with  the  hair  on  if  a  harbor 
seal) .  These  dry  skins  will  not  shrink,  and  for  every  purpose  of 
wear  are  infinitely  better  than  the  shoes,  sold  in  large  numbers, 
made  of  quickly  dried  skins,  sewed  upon  wooden  forms,  which 
shrink  and  tear,  while  they  soon  wear  useless.  Out  of  them 
the  bootleg  is  cut,  from  a  paper  pattern  of  any  kind  the  wearer 
may  choose.  All,  or  nearly  all,  bottoms  are  cut  from  like  patterns 
to  fit  a  foot  of  any  shape,  but  invariably  from  the  dried  skin  of 


"NICE  POINTS"   OF  THE  WORK.  163 

the  harp  seal,  the  dryer  and  older  the  better,  since  they  stand  more 
wear  the  older  they  are.  The  pattern  of  the  sole  is  an  oblong 
oval,  while  the  tongue  or  top  piece  is  more  or  less  lance-shaped. 
After  soaking  over  night  in  water  to  soften  it,  the  sole  is  taken 
and  the  whole  edge  for  about  an  inch  and  a  half  is  bent  mward, 
then  the  toe  is  puckered  in  creases,  as  is  also  the  heel,  while  the 
tongue  fits  the  space  left  after  the  bootleg  is  temporarily  fastened  on, 
all  the  pieces  overlapping  enough  to  allow  for  sewing.  These  puck- 
erings  are  made  by  simple  creases  of  the  needle  at  the  time  of 
sewing.  All  seams  are  made — if  the  sewing  is  done  in  a  scientific 
manner,  and  not  simply  to  ''sell  the  boot,"  as  the  expression  goes — 
by  the  simple  overlapping  of  the  two  pieces  and  sewing  each  edge 
tightly  to  the  part  beneath,  while  the  ridge  thus  made  by  the  seam, 
if  rubbed  with  a  piece  of  wood  shoemaker  fashion,  will  be  hard  and 
shiny  as  well  as  very  tight.  In  all  sewing  the  skin  is  so  thick  that 
the  needle  can  be  run  through  it  and  out  the  same  side  without 
perforating  the  skin ;  thus  a  seam  admits  no  water  through  the 
sewing,  if  the  thread  and  overlapping  pieces  are  drawn  tight. 

The  upper  edge  of  the  bootleg  has  a  doubled  piece  of  cloth  sewn 
around  its  edge,  though  sometimes  sealskin  replaces  it,  through 
which  a  piece  of  tape  or  braid  of  any  color  to  suit  the  wearer, 
about  a  yard  and  a  half  long,  is  threaded,  and  the  skin,  being  quite 
flexible  when  on  the  foot,  is  drawn  tightly  about  the  leg,  the 
braid  wound  about  twice  and  tied  with  the  string  end  hanging  out- 
ward ;  this  secures  the  boot  firmly  and  yet  not  painfiilly  to  the  foot 
by  the  leg  and,  though  the  string  often  gets  loose  and  the  bootleg 
often  slips  down,  it  seldom  gives  much  trouble  to  the  wearer. 

A  curious  operation  that  might  escape  one's  attention,  as  well  as 
a  curious  fact  in  connection  with  this  operation,  is  that  the  pucker- 
ings  of  the  heel  are  held  together  by  running  two,  three,  or  four 
small  threads  at  about  equal  distances  from  each  other — the  stitches 
being  taken  through  the  bend  in  the  creases  on  the  inside  of  the 
boot,  from  side  to  side,  around  the  heel  where  they  are  drawn 
tight  and  fastened  to  the  seam  above ;  another  fact  is  that  the 
creases  of  the  toe  are  not  thus  fastened.    Why  the  former  should  be 


164  SELECTING   SKINS.  —  PATCHING. 

done  and  not  the  latter  I  cannot  ascertain  ;  it  would  be  a  curious  fact 

to  study  into  if  one  could  spare  the  time.     A  proper  sealskin  for 

bootlegs  will  cut  from  two  to  five  pairs,  according  to  the  size  of  the 

skin, — as  the  pattern  for  all  adults  is  usually  the  same, — while  a 

proper  skin  for  bottoms  will  fit  six  to  eight  pairs  of  boots.     The 

bottoms  are  not  scraped,  but  the  legs  are  scraped  quite  clear  of  the 

vellum  from  the  inside  of  the  skin.     A  skin  that  is  dried  in  the  house 

has  a  yellowish  look  while  one  dried  out  of  doors  in  the  sun  is  white 

as   parchment  on  the  inside.     Should  it  happen  that  a  person's 

feet  are  in  the  habit  of  sweating  much,  the  whole  inside  of  the 

boot   is  rubbed  with  a  tan  made  of  birch  rind, —  but  I  do  not 

understand  the  exact  philosophy  of  it.     When  one  first  purchases 

a  pair  of  boots  they  are  generally  quite  dry ;  they  are  then  oiled 

carefully  with   the   hand,  with   seal   oil,  until   every  part   is  fully 

lubricated,  the  inside  is  then  rubbed  on  a  stick  with  a  polished 

and  nearly  sharp  edge,  as  is  often  done  by  shoemakers,  in  a  certain 

stage  of  their  own  bootmaking,  to  accomplish  the  same  result, — 

the  operation  is  nearly  similar  to  the  manner  in  which  pegs  are 

rubbed  out  of  boots.     After  this  operation  they  are  hung  in  a  warm 

place  near  the  fire  until  the  oil  has  soaked  into  the  skin  when  they 

are  ready  to  be  worn,  and  if  properly  made  will,  with  the  roughest 

wear  over  stones  and  ice,  unless  cut  or  otherwise  unusually  injured, 

remain,  with  occasional  reoilings,  water-tight  for  at  least  two  months. 

At  the  end  of  about  that  time,  the  bottom  or  the  heel  is  worn 

through  and  the  sole  must  be  tapped, — this  is  done  by  simply  cutting 

out  a  piece  of  skin,  round  and  the  size  of  the  whole  heel  if  for 

the  heel,  oblong  and  the  size  of  the  sole  if  for  the  sole,  which 

is   then   sewn   on  with  a   tightly  drawn   single  thread   from   the 

outside.     Such  a  patched  bottom  will  last  a  month  or  six  weeks 

longer  and  then  the  whole  bottom  gives  way  and  is  usually  replaced 

by  a  whole  new  piece  from  the  ankle  down. 

All  shoes  are  made  substantially  upon  the  same  pattern ;  while 
for  house  wear  the  leg  part  is  dispensed  with  and  the  bottom 
extended  upwards  far  enough  to  bind  as  a  slipper  or  tie  around  the 
ankle  as  a  shoe.     Such  is  Labrador  and  Esquimaux  foot-gear  as 


MOCCASINS.  165 


worn  on  the  whole  or  nearly  the  whole  coast.  Their  price  varies 
from  poorly  made  boots  at  $2.00  to  the  best  at  ^2.50  to  ^3.00 ; 
while  the  scarcity  of  seals  will  sometimes  render  them  even  more 
expensive.  A  dried  sealskin  for  making  boot  bottoms  averages 
in  price  at  $1.50.  The  bootleg  is  often  made  of  dogskin  similarly 
dressed  to  the  sealskin,  but  the  same  general  character  prev^ails  in 
all,  however  made.  In  winter  the  men  usually  wear  moccasins 
on  their  feet.  These  are  generally  made  of  dressed  deerskin  or 
mooseskin,  and  worn  by  those  on  the  coast  who  are  fortunate  enough 
to  have  procured  the  skins  either  by  purchase  or  trade,  by  their 
own  success  in  hunting,  or,  as  is  generally  the  case,  directly  from 
the  Indians.  The  process  by  which  the  skins  are  tanned  in  the  best 
manner  seems  to  be  kept  a  secret.  A  moccasin  is  generally  made 
in  much  the  same  manner  as  a  boot  bottom,  and  in  place  of  the 
leg  is  a  simple  binding  of  colored  cloth  doubled  to  allow  a  piece 
of  braid  to  be  inserted  which,  tied,  holds  the  moccasin  to  the 
foot,  while  many  are  simply  bound  without  strings.  In  some  cases 
a  wide  piece  is  sewed  on  to  the  top  that  may  reach  around  the 
ankle,  while  a  loop  on  each  side  holds  a  strip  of  deerskin  that 
ties  around  the  ankle  holding  the  moccasin  fast  to  the  leg. 

Moccasins  are  of  endless  patterns  and  varieties  :  some  are  like 
slippers  and  very  plainly  made ;  others  are  more  carefully  pre- 
pared, by  ornamenting  the  tongue  with  beads,  colored  cotton,  or 
porcupine  quills  wrought  into  figures,  flowers,  and  forms  of  many 
varieties.  Very  often  the  shoe  is  tanned  and  rendered  quite  brown 
by  this  process.  Sometimes  the  toes  are  pointed,  the  side  fringed, 
and  many  are  the  devices  for  varying  the  make  and  pattern  so 
that  the  taste  of  the  purchaser  may  be  gratified  in  his  selection 
of  a  pair.  Deerskin  moccasins  are  only  worn  on  snow  and  in 
snowy  weather ;  for  being  of  a  soft  skin  the  slightest  wet  will  at 
once  shrink  and  spoil  them.  The  snow  here  often  falls  in  large, 
deep  masses  of  a  very  dry  nature,  and  only  at  this  time  these 
shoes  are  worn, — but  they  are  never  worn  alone ;  the  universal 
accompaniment  is  a  pair  of  leggings  made  of  thick  swanskin, 
which  is  a  sort  of  very  thick,  woolly,  cotton-like  cloth  in  common 


166  LEGGINGS.  —  VAMPS. 


use  here  for  all  sorts  of  articles  of  warm  wear.  The  legging  answers 
the  purpose  of  a  bootleg,  and  since  it  is  only  worn  with  the 
moccasins  in  the  snow  serves  remarkably  well  for  that  purpose. 
Leggings,  made  either  with  a  sock  or  without  one,  pull  on  the 
legs  over  the  pantaloons ;  a  loop  often  passing  from  side  to  side, 
under  the  foot  as  in  riding  pants  and  patent  hunting  oilskin  or 
rubber  breeches.  The  moccasin  is  then  put  on  over  the  bottom 
part  of  the  legging,  and  the  top  secured  by  some  bright  braid  as 
before  mentioned  in  the  case  of  the  boot.  A  little  matter  of  pride 
comes  into  notice  here,  —  that  is,  the  tasty  bordering  of  the  seam  of 
the  legging,  on  either  side,  since  the  seam  is  always  worn  outward 
and  the  braid  tied  with  colored  worsteds  so  that  the  ends  hang 
jauntily  outward  also.  The  whole  outfit  forms  a  very  pretty  fancy 
piece,  and  reflects  the  good  taste  of  the  wearer. 

Neither  shoes,  boots,  nor  moccasins,  of  a  soft  bottom,  are  ever 
worn  except  with  several  pair  of  thick  stockings  and  one  or  two  pair 
of  swanskin  vamps,  as  they  are  called ;  these  are  simply  cloth-hke 
slippers,  and  much  resemble  a  stocking  cut  off  just  above  the  instep 
with  the  edges  bound  or  sewed  over  and  over  with  worsted,  and  a 
central  flap  an  inch  or  two  long  from  the  middle  of  the  front  edge 
in  which  is  made  a  loop  and  by  which  the  pair  are  looped  and 
fastened,  the  one  to  the  other,  when  they  are  hung  up  to  dry,  as 
they  usually  are  every  night.  One  can  easily  see  that,  compelled 
as  the  people  are  to  take  long  walks,  the  foot-gear  must  be,  as  it  is, 
very  warm  and  protecting  to  the  feet ;  and  yet,  though  at  first  sight 
those  skin  coverings  would  seem  cold  and  productive  of  cold  feet 
the  reverse  is  so  extraordinarily  the  case  that  one  can  stand  in 
water  all  day  and  not  wet  the  feet,  unless  the  boot  is  poorly  made,  or 
stand  on  the  ice  in  the  coldest  weather  and  seldom  suffer  from  the 
cold  penetrating  to  the  soles  of  the  feet.  The  main  difficulty  is 
the  getting  used  to  such  "strange  feeling  shoes,"  and  in  walking  over 
small,  loose,  angular  pebbles  which  are  everywhere  abundant  on 
the  shore,  large  rocks  giving  Htde  or  no  trouble  at  all.  In  summer 
generally  the  smallest  amount  possible  is  worn  on  the  foot. 
Strange  to  say,  sometimes  sealskin  bottoms  are   put  on  leather- 


SEALSKIN   MITTENS.  — HATS.  167 

topped  boots.  Often  American  and  English  boots  and  shoes,  or 
rubbers,  are  used,  but  these  seldom  in  winter  except  on  Sundays 
or  extraordinary  occasions.  In  the  house  sealskin  shoes,  much 
like  a  moccasin,  are  worn  by  the  members  of  the  family  large  and 
small,  almost  without  exception,  while  in  warm  weather  the  chil- 
dren go  barefooted. 

The  next  most  important  articles  of  wear  that  the  women  make 
are  sealskin  mittens.  The  sealskin  mittens  of  the  Esquimaux, 
and  those  which  are  worn  all  along  the  coast,  are  articles  probably 
peculiar  to  this,  as  to  other  Arctic  regions.  The  sealskin  is  the 
same  as  that  used  for  most  articles  of  wear  here,  and  must  be  remem- 
bered as  the  harbor,  not  the  Russian,  Northwest,  Alaskan  hair  seal. 
The  skin  is  dressed  as  usual,  and  the  mittens  made  with  the  fur 
outward.  They  are  odd  looking  articles  outside,  while  the  inside 
is  at  first  quite  tough  and  rough  with  the  natural  wrinkles  of  the 
skin,  caused  by  heat  or  dryness.  These,  like  the  boots,  are  worth 
more  if  made  of  well  rather  than  imperfectly  cured  skins.  The 
whole  length  of  the  mitten  is  from  twelve  to  fourteen  inches.  The 
top  is  quite  wide  w^hile  the  rest  of  the  mit  narrows  to  the  hand  which 
is  made  of  a  short,  wide,  rounded  piece  of  skin  sewed  to  the  main 
part  of  the  mitten.  It  is  a  simple  affair,  and  yet,  like  the  boots, 
when  worn  with  ever  so  thin  an  extra  covering  inside,  it  is  nearly 
impervious  to  the  cold.  As  a  further  protection  there  is  a  border 
at  the  top  consisting  of  a  strip  of  muskrat,  otter,  or  beaver  skin, 
with  the  fur  outward,  and  from  one  to  two  inches  wide.  Though 
somewhat  clumsy,  it  is  a  rather  pretty  affair  to  look  at,  especially  if 
the  pattern  of  the  sealskin,  as  it  often  does,  varies  from  silky  ash  to 
almost  black  with  roundish  spots  of  ash  black  centred ;  sometimes 
a  skin  is  nearly  pure  black  (the  hairs,  silky  at  the  tips  only,  reflect- 
ing a  delicate  velvet) .  The  color  of  the  skin  and  the  curing  seem 
to  sell  the  mits  better  than  anything  else,  and  a  prettily  spotted  pair 
is  almost  always  chosen  in  preference  to  one  plainly  colored. 

We  have  still  to  describe  two  articles  of  wear  before  our  hunting 
apparel  is  completed.  First,  the  sealskin  hat  or  cap  :  this  is  made 
like  an  ordinary  cap  with  a  rather  pointed  crown  (made  of  cornered 


168  A   "NUNNY  BAG."  — COSSACKS. 

pieces  of  skin  running  from  top  to  bottom),  with  ear  flaps  and 
strings  to  tie  beneath  the  chin.  Secondly,  a  hunting  or  "  numiy 
bag,'"  to  sHng  over  the  shoulders  and  carry  the  provisions  or  any 
articles  of  use  or  luggage :  this,  too,  is  entirely  of  sealskin  make. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  closely  into  the  details  of  the  work  on 
these  articles  as  the  sewing  is  usually  of  the  same  type  in  each 
article  as  that  on  the  seams  of  the  bootlegs,  while  the  style  may 
vary  according  to  the  taste  of  the  person  for  whom  they  are  made. 
The  nunny  bag  is  a  spacious  bag,  wider  than  high,  with  an  immense 
lapel.  It  is  carried  on  the  back  between  the  shoulders,  and  se- 
cured by  bands  which  slip  over  the  arms  and  rest  on  the  shoulders. 

As  we  have  gone  so  far  in  the  hunting  or  tramping  dress  of  the 
Labradorians,  a  short  account  of  their  other  principal  articles  of 
outside  wear  may  not  here  be  out  of  place.  Of  course  the  general 
clothing  in  the  winter  months,  whatever  it  may  be,  is  of  the  warmest 
possible  kind  ;  the  heaviest  flannels  are  always  used,  and  sometimes 
several  pair,  while  the  cloth  of  which  the  coat  and  pantaloons  are 
made  is  as  stout  and  thick  as  can  be  obtained.  The  men  wear 
cotton  or  perhaps  a  sort  of  duck  overalls,  and  cossacks  ;  the  former 
need  very  little  description  being  simply  what  I  have  named  them, 
and,  worn  over  the  pantaloons,  are  with  them,  tucked  into  the  boots. 
A  cossack  is  a  loose  short  jacket.  It  is  made  of  swanskin,  and 
the  long  sleeves  reach  to  the  hand  while  the  robe  or  hood  for  the 
head  is  cornucopia-shaped,  and  fastened  to  the  collar  behind. 
The  binding  is  of  calico.  It  is  secured  around  the  waist  by  a 
scarf  the  ends  of  which  hang  to  the  left ;  or  the  belt  holding 
the  hunting  knife  (an  article  always  worn,  concealed  or  open) 
is  simply  strapped  around  the  body. 

A  person  attired  in  such  an  outfit  as  I  have  mentioned  is  warm 
and  well  provided  for  almost  any  sort  of  weather  that  may  come. 
He  is  ready  to  meet  the  thermometer  at  30°  or  even  40°  below 
zero,  while  by  leaving  off  some  of  the  flannel  underwear  he  can 
readily  adapt  himself  to  a  warm  day.  Long  tramps  are  thought 
nothing  of;  hospitality,  as  I  have  said  before,  is  extended  to  him 
from  every  house  upon  the  road ;  hardships  seem  nothing ;  while 


VISITING  THE  TRAPS.  —  HUNTER'S  CABIN.  169 

he  who  endures  the  most,  and  speaks  the  least  about  it,  soon 
acquires  the  reputation  which  he  has  worked  to  earn,  of  a  fellow 
who  will  stand  almost  anything.  The  great  occupation  in  winter 
is  visiting  the  traps  and  hunting.  I  might  have  placed  these 
occupations  in  exactly  the  reverse  order  but  that  more  is  secured 
by  trapping,  hence  the  more  important,  than  by  hunting,  which 
usually  furnishes  only  a  temporary  supply  of  game  for  the  table,  such 
as  partridges,  rabbits,  and  in  some  cases  deer.  The  partridges  are 
the  ptarmigan,  the  spruce  partridge,  and  rarely  the  sharp-tailed 
grouse  ;  the  two  former  being  very  abundant,  while  the  latter  is  rare. 
The  various  animals,  except  the  porcupine,  which  is  clubbed  with 
a  stick,  since  its  gait  is  so  slow  that  it  cannot  run  away  from 
one,  though  sometimes  shot  are  more  often  trapped,  and  these 
will  be  spoken  of  in  another  place.  The  deer-hunting  forms 
an  occupation  in  itself.  There  are  several  cabins  built  near  the 
well-known  deer  hunting  grounds  in  the  interior  of  the  country 
some  ten  or  twenty  miles  away,  where  parties,  wishing  to  enjoy  this 
sport,  and  secure  some  fresh  meat  for  the  table,  make  their  head- 
quarters ;  from  here  they  take  long  tramps,  and  often  shoot  several 
deer  to  a  man  in  the  course  of  a  season.  The  cabins  are  very  small 
within,  and  some  ten  or  twenty  men  will  huddle  together  in  this 
confined  place  in  the  evening  ( if  the  deer  be  unusually  abundant 
during  the  day)  and  spend  their  time  smoking  and  playing  cards. 
A  dingy  little  cabin  scarcely  larger  than  an  ordinary  room 
sixteen  by  twenty  feet  in  width,  with  a  long  bin-shaped  bunk  or 
berth  on  each  side,  capable  of  holding  six  or  eight  men  each, 
as  a  sleeping  apartment ;  a  stove  in  the  middle  of  the  room ;  a 
room  full  of  tobacco  smoke ;  and  the  shouts  and  confused  voices 
of  so  many  men,  are  anything  but  pleasant  to  one  whose  nerves 
are  at  all  delicately  strung ;  yet,  as  I  have  before  said,  these  men 
think  nothing  of  hardships,  being  bred  to  them  from  childhood, 
and  though  they  often  go  forty  miles  a  day  looking  for  game, 
over  hills  and  down  gorges  of  the  most  difficult  walking,  and 
have  started  off  early  in  the  morning  sometimes  before  light,  go- 
ing all  day  with  only  a  taste  of  food,  returning  late  in  the  evening, 


170  "  HOSSACS." 


they  will  then  spend  the  greater  part  of  the  remainder  of  the 
night  in  revelling,  with  only  a  few  hours  of  sleep  between  this 
and  another  day  of  the  same  sort.  Nor  do  I  exaggerate  a  particle, 
when  I  say  that  this  life  is  continued  sometimes  a  month  at  a  time, 
through  all  sorts  of  weather.  Such  is  the  life  of  these  hardy  people 
in  winter  when  they  go  out  for  a  ''good  time  ;"  and  in  summer, 
during  the  fishing  season,  it  is  fully  as  bad ;  but  the  people  are, 
for  the  most  part,  pleasant  and  friendly,  and  a  stranger  has  no 
cause  to  complain  for  want  of  being  favored. 

The  fancy  work  in  which  the  ladies  indulge  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  especially  in  the  winter  evenings,  may  be  known  as  pouches, 
pockets,  ^'  hossacs,'"  watch  cases,  and  sometimes  cushions  and  a 
variety  of  beadvvork  of  all  sorts  and  patterns, — the  latter  being 
mostly  worked  by  Indian  squaws,  who,  with  the  men,  often  live  in 
tents  near  the  coast  in  the  spring  and  summer  time  when  they  sell 
all  sorts  of  articles  of  their  own  manufacture  and  handiwork.  While 
watches  are  rare  on  the  coast,  the  various  patterns  for  watch  cases, 
of  beadwork  or  cloth  or  on  sealskin,  are  various  and  very  pretty. 
As  I  am  writing  I  have  one  now  hung  on  the  wall  at  my  right.  It 
is  about  six  inches  long,  and  three  broad  at  the  widest  part ;  the 
shape  is  rather  sharp  ovoid.  The  main  part  is  of  harbor  sealskin 
plainly  but  very  neatly  worked  with  colored  beads  on  the  upper 
part,  while  the  outside  of  the  pocket  has  three  little  knots  of  the 
same  on  either  side  of  the  round  opening  for  the  face  of  the  watch, 
which  opening,  with  the  upper  edge  of  the  pocket,  and  the  whole 
outer  edge  of  the  case  has  an  edging  of  purple  ribbon,  on  which 
a  string  of  white  beads  is  sewed  in  small  scallops  entirely  around 
it ;  the  inside  pocket  lining,  as  shown  through  the  opening 
in  front,  is  of  red  silk,  and  the  back  of  the  whole  affair  is  of 
brown  cotton  cloth.  It  is  really  very  ornamental,  and  quite  useful ; 
various  patterns  are  made  besides  this ;  but,  as  a  rule,  the  plainer 
and  simpler  the  more  attractive  they  are.  Hossacks  are  long  strips 
of  cloth  on  which  a  series  of  three,  four,  or  even  more  pockets,  of 
a  variety  of  depth  and  width  to  suit  the  maker,  are  sewed,  the 
top  of  each  pocket  just  reaching  to  the  bottom  of  the  other,  and  the 


DUCKS'   HEADS  AS   ORNAMENTS.  171 

whole  making  a  strip  some  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  long  by  four 
or  six  wide.  When  the  body  of  the  piece  and  the  lining  of  the 
pockets  are  of  good  cloth,  the  trimmings  an  edging  of  colored 
ribbons  with  bows  at  each  corner  of  the  top  of  each  pocket  and 
at  the  bottom  of  the  last  one,  and  the  face  of  each  pocket  filled 
with  sealskin,  beadwork  on  sealskin,  or  colored  cloth  groundwork, 
or,  as  is  more  often  the  case,  of  the  heads  of  ducks  and  other 
birds,  the  effect  is  most  striking,  and  the  ornament  one  which  would 
grace  the  boudoir  of  the  wealthy  as  well  as  the  library  of  the  student. 
The  head  of  a  merganser  or  sheldrake,  with  its  purple  reflections, 
and  long,  linear,  glossy,  and  most  delicately  curved  feathers  ;  that 
of  the  loon  with  its  metallic  gloss ;  of  the  king  eider,  or  kingbird 
as  it  is  called,  with  its  delicate  green  on  a  white  background, — 
are  the  most  frequently  used  pieces ;  while  the  teal,  widgeon,  and 
various  other  birds  are  sometimes  substituted  and,  placed  in  the  most 
conspicuous  places,  add  greatly  to  the  attractiveness  of  the  article. 
Pouches  and  pockets,  especially  for  carrying  tobacco,  are  usually 
made  and  sold  in  large  numbers.  They  are  manufactured  of  harbor 
sealskin — lined  or  not — bordered,  fringed,  worked  with  beads  some- 
times over  nearly  their  entire  surface,  or  plain  according  as  the 
maker  may  see  fit  to  work  them.  The  rounded  lapel  is  termin- 
ated by  a  long,  thin  strip  of  sealskin,  to  which  is  attached  a  piece 
of  wood,  bone,  or  the  tooth  of  some  animal,  which  ties  and  fastens 
the  article  when  rolled  up.  If  it  is  made  to  roll  up  tightly  it  is 
called  a  pouch,  while  if  it  retain  its  shape  it  is  called  a  pocket.  The 
market  for  all  these  articles  is  chiefly  near  home  and  their  making 
a  matter  of  pleasure  rather  than  work. 


\^?n9 


172  NEW  YEAR'S  DAY.  — RACKET  WALKING. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


New  Year's  Day  —  How  to  walk  on  Rackets  —  "  Fish,  dogs  and  seal,"  the 
general  topics  of  conversation  —  Obtaining  skeletons  —  Larch  poultices  — 
"Small  Talk  —  Low  temperature  —  Deer  stories  —  Trapping  —  Indians 
—  Up  the  river  —  At  the  Mission —  Harnessing  the  puppies  —  A  racket 
walk. 


Saturday,  January  i,  1881.  New  Year's  day  passed  much  like 
any  other  day  here,  and  differed  little  from  either  the  Christmas  or 
Thanksgiving  that  had  preceded  it.  The  "old  wife's"  saying,  that 
the  twelve  days  after  Christmas  determine  the  weather  for  the  twelve 
months  in  the  year,  is  here  strongly  and  strangely  believed,  espec- 
ially by  the  elderly  people.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that,  generally, 
the  people  are  rather  inclined  to  superstitions.  Sayings  like  the 
above,  together  with  such  as  the  month  "  comes  in  like  a  lion 
and  goes  out  like  a  lamb,"  or  the  reverse,  are  frequently  quoted  ;  and 
though  half  in  jest  I  fancy  them  to  be  more  than  half  believed. 
One  will  find  a  very  fair  practical  example  of  the  use  or  belief  in 
the  value  of  Herschel's  weather  tables  by  the  moon,  here  in  the  old 
wife's  almanac.  Such  elderly  ladies  almost  invariably  inquire  when 
the  moon  appeared  before  telling  what  weather  may  be  expected. 
Strange  as  it  may  be,  they  seldom  assert  that  the  weather  will  be 
"  so  and  so,"  but  say''  I  have  always  noticed  ;"  or  "  the  last  time" 
it  was  so  and  so,  so  and  so  happened — thus  they  predict  the  fu- 
ture from  the  past. 

I  made  my  first  trial  to-day  of  walking  on  rackets.  Racket- 
walking  is  a  feat  very  difficult  for  a  stranger  to  acquire  readily. 
The  motion  is  different  from  anything  I  know  of;  the  peculiar  swing 
of  the  body  much  like  that  of  a  sailor  walking  the  slippery  or  un- 


"  FISH,  DOGS,  AND    SEAL."  173 

balanced  deck  of  a  vessel.     The  impression  upon  the  snow  is  about 

)  as  shown  in  the  figure.  Place  a  number  of  these  figures  in  a 
(      line,  one  before  the  other,  and  you  have  the  impression ;  im- 

)  agine  the  foot  as  it  swings  the  circle  of  the  loop  and  you  have 
(      the  step.     I  walked  with  one  of  the  neighbors  into  the  river, 

)  as  it  is  called,  that  is,  to  the  Mission  settlement,  seven  miles 
away ;  my  feet  were  sore  for  days  afterwards,  but  I  soon  became 
expert  in  the  use  of  the  rackets,  and  before  many  weeks  was 
using  them  as  freely  as  if  I  had  lived  in  Labrador  all  my  life. 

Wednesday  evening  a  party  of  neighbors  called  from  about  fif- 
teen miles  to  the  westward,  and  amused  us  with  the  news,  of  which 
there  was  very  little,  and  the  gossip  of  which  there  was  a  great  deal. 
They  were  very  pleasant,  and  concerning  their  hobbies  —  fish,  dogs, 
and  seals  —  quite  intelligent.  Hunting  is  generally  the  chief  topic  of 
conversation  in  the  winter,  and  though  game  appears  scarce  this 
year,  I  have  the  word  of  so  many  that  I  cannot  doubt  the  asser- 
tion that  last  year  ('79-'8o),  two  young  fellows  shot  and  snared 
eight  hundred  rabbits  and  about  three  hundred  ptarmigans ;  they 
sold  part  of  them  farther  to  the  north  for  a  shilling  (twenty  cents) 
a  pair,  while  those  remaining  not  eaten  were  salted  down  for  future 
use. 

Tuesday  the  nth.  We  were  nearly  turned  out  of  the  house 
for  the  day  and  the  rest  of  the  week,  by  the  owner  using  the  only 
available  room  for  a  carpenter's  shop,  while  he  made  him  a  new 
komatik  ;  for  some  trifling  reason,  however,  the  sled  was  not  a  suc- 
cess, and  was  used  but  very  little,  the  old  one  being  preferred  in 
its  place. 

I  was  very  fortunate  to-day  in  getting  a  large  number  of  skeletons 
of  mammalia,  from  a  gentleman  now  in  charge  of  the  (this  year's) 
unused  habitation  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  post  at  St. 
Augustine, —  I  mean  unused  this  year  by  the  company.  There 
were  several  skeletons  of  the  beaver,  the  mountain  cat,  as  it  is  here 
called,  or  Canada  lynx  {Lynx  Canadensis),  several  specimens 
each  of  the  common  red,  the  cross,  and  the  patch  fox,  together 
with   one  of  the  white  or  arctic  fox   (  Vulpes  lagopus ) ,  besides 


174  PURCHASING  SKELETONS. 

several  of  the  weasel  and  mink,  one  martin  {Muste/a  Ajnericana) , 
and  a  variety  of  the  common  red  squirrel  {Sciurus  Htcdsonius) . 
It  often  amuses  me  to  hear  the  reports,  so  frequently  current,  of 
the  fabulous  "  wealth  of  the  American  gentleman  who  has  lately 
come  on  the  coast,  buying  everything  that  is  of  no  use  to  anybody." 

One  fellow  brought  me  a  common  porcupine  and  said  that  he 
heard  that  I  was  giving  five  dollars  for  porcupines,  but  wanted  to 
know  if  I  could  not  give  him  six  !  I  gave  him  a  dollar,  and 
considered  that  he  had  made  a  pretty  good  bargain  at  that.  He 
was  contented,  since  he  had  been  induced  to  ask  the  price  by  his 
father  and  others  who  undoubtedly  thought  that  they  could  easily 
"make  a  good  thing"  out  of  the  American  who  might  not  know 
the  difference.  With  reference  to  one  other  animal  whose  skele- 
ton I  procured,  I  would  say  that  the  wolverine,  or  glutton  ( Gulo 
iuscus),  —  called  "  Carcajou  "  by  the  Indians  —  is  becoming  either 
more  and  more  rare  about  this  locality,  in  fact  all  along  the  coast, 
or  has  retired  far  inland.  It  is  seldom  caught ;  its  fur  rarely 
appears  in  collections  —  that  is  in  comparison  to  what  it  did  ten 
years  ago  even  —  and  is  so  poor,  and  the  price  so  low,  that  it 
would  hardly  pay  one  to  hunt  it.  The  Indians  have  ceased 
to  capture  it,  and  out  of  a  thousand  dollar  batch  of  fur  you  will 
not  find  more  than  ten  dollars  worth  of  its  skins.  The  animal  has 
undoubtedly  gone  farther  into  the  interior,  where  it  hunts  the 
deer  by  pouncing  upon  it  from  some  concealed  spot  in  the 
trees  above,  when  the  animal  passes,  and  tearing  its  throat  sucks 
its  blood. 

Monday  the  1 7th.  While  up  the  bay  this  morning  there  came  on 
a  tremendous  snowstorm.  The  flakes  were  larger  I  think  than  any 
that  I  ever  saw  before  or  have  seen  since  ;  it  often  appeared  as  if  I 
saw  them  fully  half  as  large   as  my  hand. 

For  the  last  three  or  four  days  one  of  the  men  has  been  suffering 
intensely  with  a  felon  on  his  thumb ;  all  manner  of  poultices  and 
applications  have  been  tried  to  cure  it,  but  none  have  been  so 
effectual  as  the  soft,  outer  rind  of  the  common  larch  {Larix  Amer- 
icana^, boiled  in  hot  water  and  then  kneaded  into  a  poultice.     It 


* 


"SMALL  TALK."  175 


healed  the  sore  with  wonderful  rapidity.  It  reminds  one  how  rare 
serious  cases  are  in  this  region,  where  physicians  are  so  "  few  and 
far  between."  The  people  are  seldom  sick,  and  when  they  are 
nature  is  its  own  nurse  assisted  by  the  experience  of  the  "  old  wo- 
men "  of  the  coast. 

-Saturday  all  hands  amused  themselves  making  molasses  candy, 
a  great  treat  in  this  region ;  it  tasted  very  good  and  homelike  I 
assure  you.  A  little  luxury  of  this  kind  is  highly  appreciated  in 
3uch  a  region,  and  especially  since  so  little  sweetening  of  any  kind 
can  be  procured.  This  year  provisions  have  been  unusually  high 
every^vhere  along  the  coast.  Flour,  which  usually  sells  for  from  seven 
to  eight  dollars  a  barrel,  has  already  reached  twelve  dollars,  and  is 
still  going  up  ;  it  is  hard  to  be  obtained  even  at  this  price.  Many 
of  the  poorer  families  are  feeding  on  corn  meal,  which  is  generally 
refused  here  until  the  last  extremity,  since  the  majority  of  the  peo- 
ple regard  it  as  hardly  fit  to  feed  the  dogs  with.  I  suppose,  in  this 
case,  the  climate  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  prejudice.  Corn 
meal  is  evidently  and  eminently  a  southern  dish,  and  suitable  to 
the  warm  cHmates.  Besides  what  I  have  mentioned,  the  saltfish 
has  already  given  out  in  the  majority  of  the  families  along  the 
coast,  and  the  preserv'ed  salmon,  trout,  herring,  and  mackerel, 
are  being  used  up  fast.  Last  year  the  game  was  so  abundant  that 
not  half  of  it  could  be  eaten ;  this  year  there  are  no  indications 
of  any,  and  the  Indians,  from  two  hundred  miles  in  the  interior, 
are  telling  the  same  story.  Some  of  the  old  inhabitants  say  that 
they  never  knew  such  a  dearth  of  game  during  thirty  or  forty  years' 
residence  on  the  coast. 

Several  cases  have  come  to  my  knowledge  where  whole  families 
have  been  obliged  to  separate  and  hire  around  in  turn  to  their 
more  fortunate  neighbors  for  the  winter  for  their  board  alone,  to 
escape  the  poverty  and  destitution  which  would  surely  have  over- 
taken some  of  them  had  they  continued  living  together  for  any 
length  of  time  during  this  excessively  cold  weather.  Add  to  this 
the  wrangling  of  families  and  often  members  of  the  same  family 
(happening  in  several  cases,  over  the  cargo  of  the  wrecked  Edward 


176  DOGS  DRAWING  HEAVY   LOADS. 

Card  well) ,  and  it  is  not  strange  that  this  should  be  regarded  as  an 
unusual  year  on  the  coast  of  Labrador.  Still  another  drawback 
exists,  and  one  that  would  work  in  the  exact  opposite  way  in  any 
other  country :  the  weather  has  been  mild  instead  of  cold, —  the 
bays  hardly  frozen  over.  Now  if  the  bays  do  not  freeze  fast 
sledding  between  places  becomes  almost  impossible,  since  the  dogs 
must  draw  the  sleds  over  steep  and  high  hills,  and  can  carry  only 
a  small  load ;  while  if  the  weather  be  cold,  the  bays  freeze  quickly 
and  sleds  draw  immense  loads  with  the  greatest  of  ease. 

It  is  an  old  saying  that  "you  cannot  load  a  well-made  komatik." 
The  sled  balances  so  nicely  and  draws  so  evenly  on  the  ice  that  you 
may  pile  on  all  that  you  can,  yet  once  start  the  load  and  the  dogs 
will  draw  it  fast  enough.  This  does  not  necessarily  prove  that  the 
dogs  are  not  powerful  creatures,  or  that  they  do  not  exert  great 
power  in  drawing  the  loads  imposed  upon  them.  I  have  seen  three 
stout  dogs  draw  over  a  thousand  pounds  of  old  iron  (upon  one  of 
these  sledges)  over  seven  miles  in  about  an  hour  and  twenty-five 
minutes ;  while  again  I  have  seen  these  same  dogs  draw  a  load 
of  twelve  twelve-foot  deal  board  plank,  weighing  not  one-half  as 
much,  and  when  the  sled  became  stuck  in  the  slush,  all  their 
force  could  not  move  it.  Though  this  would  seem  to  prove  that 
the  sled  is  easily  drawn  after  being  once  started,  such  is  not  always 
the  case.  It  must  be  remembered  that  dogs  must  exert  a  tremen- 
dous effort  to  draw  even  the  small  weight  of  an  empty  komatik  over 
the  ice  that  is  smooth  as  glass  and  presents  no  unevenness  upon 
which  they  may  rest  the  foot  to  keep  it  from  slipping.  I  have 
seen  several  of  these  creatures  harnessed  in  such  a  position  where  it 
was  impossible  to  assist  in  the  carrying,  and  even  very  little  in  the 
starting  of  the  load  ;  for  instance,  there  were  five  large,  smart  dogs 
harnessed  to  a  huge  oak  log,  eighteen  inches  square  and  fifty  feet 
long,  embedded  in  the  snow  and  ice.  A  few  pries  with  the  pick 
loosened  but  did  not  start  the  log.  The  dogs  strained,  often 
running  backward,  then  rushing  forward  with  a  great  jump  that 
brought  them  to  the  end  of  the  line,  with  a  thug  like  the  sound 
of  a  drum,  while  at  other  times  they  strained  every  nerve,  before 
the  log  started ;  but,  once  started,  was  drawn  without  difficulty. 


LOW  TEMPERATURE  — DEER  STORIES.  177 

The  lowest  temperature  that  I  observed  occurred  this  week  when, 
about  seven  o'clock  one  morning,  the  glass  was  at  27°  below  zero ; 
it  must  at  the  very  least  have  been  30°  below  during  the  night. 
This  is  generally  the  average  winter  temperature  in  this  region,  on 
cold  winter  nights  and  mornings,  while  it  often  goes  down  to  40° 
below  and  sometimes  freezes  the  mercury.  This  winter  the  majority 
of  readings  for  the  thermometer  have  been  hardly  to  zero,  or  barely 
below  it — consequently  the  bays  have  not  frozen  over,  travelling  has 
been  most  difficult,  and  the  people  have  suffered  accordingly. 

In  the  poorer  communities  I  have  been  struck  with  the  greed  with 
which  everything  is  saved  or  hoarded  up  against  a  time  when  it 
may  be  needed.  Nails  are  often  of  as  much  value  as  if  they  were 
made  of  nickel ;  pieces  of  wood  of  peculiar  shape  are  saved ;  the 
hoop,  stave,  or  head  of  a  barrel,  if  strong,  is  carefully  laid  away ; 
while  each  little  thing  is  saved  or  hoarded  with  the  care  bestowed 
upon  some  sacred  Penates,  that  is  kept  to  be  looked  upon  rather 
than  for  use.  Everything  has  its  value  while  there  is  little  that  is 
apparently  useless. 

I  suppose  that  to-day,  Thursday,  Feb.  10,  one  of  the  most 
exciting  stories  (since  verified)  came  to  us  that  we  have  heard 
for  a  long  time.  I  have  reference  to  a  party  of  deer  hunters  who 
have  just  returned  from  the  interior  with  report  of  a  large  herd  of 
deer  having  appeared  there,  about  a  day's  journey  eastward  from 
where  we  now  live.  Their  success  has  been  unusual.  Large  herds 
have  been  seen,  and  a  great  many  deer  killed  by  different  parties 
along  the  coast.  One  man  living  in  the  little  settlement  up  the 
river  had  the  rare  fortune  to  kill  four  in  one  day.  It  appears  that 
the  hunter  alluded  to  started  out  alone  from  the  cabin,  one  morning 
before  breakfast,  and,  coming  up  with  a  herd,  was  fortunate  enough 
to  kill  two  deer  with  the  same  ball — both  falling  together.  He  re- 
turned to  the  cabin  to  breakfast,  and  said  that  he  should  want  some 
one  to  go  with  him  with  a  sledge  and  dogs  to  procure  the  deer  and 
bring  them  to  the  cabin  for  him.  While  waiting  for  the  men  to  har- 
ness the  dogs,  and  get  in  readiness,  he  said  to  them  that  he  would 
just  take  his  rifle  and  have  a  turn  over  the  hill  beyond  to  see  if 
12 


178  HOW  INDIANS  HUNT. 

there  was  anything  in  the  shape  of  game  to  be  seen,  hardly  ex- 
pecting to  find  any  so  near  the  cabin.  He  returned  in  a  short 
time  saying  that  he  had  shot  two  more  deer,  as  before,  both  with 
the  same  ball,  taking  two  of  them  as  they  happened  to  be  running 
abreast.  Of  course,  those  in  the  cabin  were  ^vild  with  excitement. 
During  the  hunting  season  several  parties  shot  deer  and  some  of 
them  more  than  one,  but  no  one  approached  the  above  record. 

We  now  had  fresh  meat,  and  made  good  use  of  it,  I  assure  you. 
It  was  quite  palatable  after  a  uniform  diet  of  salt  fish  and  pork  for 
four  months  previous.  Later  on  we  obtained  deer's  meat  of  the 
Indians,  smoked  by  them,  and  prepared  as  our  dried  beef; 
they  cut  it  up  into  small  pieces,  and  eat  it  from  their  tin  dish 
much  as  we  would  bread  and  milk,  without  the  milk,  however. 
This  dried  deer's  meat  is,  in  fact,  the  Indians'  bread  for  a  large  part 
of  the  year,  while  they  are  out  on  their  hunting  expeditions.  The 
Indians  conduct  their  hunts  in  a  much  more  systematic  manner 
than  would  at  first  appear.  They  start  from  the  coast  and  travel 
about  a  hundred  miles  directly  inland  before  pitching  their  tents, 
carrying  everything  with  them,  of  course,  by  the  water  of  the 
numerous  inland  ponds  and  lakes,  or  on  their  back  over  portages, — 
a  portage  being  generally  spoken  of  as  a  narrow  passage  over  some 
embankment  which  separates  the  waters  of  one  lake  or  pond  from 
those  of  some  other  farther  on — when  they  camp,  and  the  men 
immediately  start  out  on  the  look,  first,  before  any  hunting  or  trap- 
ping of  other  game  is  attended  to,  for  deer.  They  travel  by 
concentric  circles  gradually  widening  outward,  and  return  in  much 
the  same  way  home.  Thus  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  miss  the 
tracks,  on  the  snow,  of  these  animals,  should  they  cross  them  in  any 
direction.  The  tracks  first  found,  the  impressions  are  followed  with 
accuracy  and  swiftness,  day  and  night,  until  the  herd  is  found,  when, 
I  believe,  generally,  part  remain  to  hunt  while  the  others  return  and 
fetch  the  tent  and  utensils  to  within  a  few  miles  of  this  new  locality. 
As  long  as  there  are  deer  within  thirty  miles  of  the  tent  the 
Indians  remain  in  a  given  place  and  proceed  with  their  hunting. 
Several  deer  are  killed,  their  flesh  hung  in  strips  over  the  fire  and 


INDIANS  IN  WINTER.  179 

smoked — to  be  afterwards  laid  away  for  extreme  use  only ;  the  bones 
are  either  made  into  a  soup — as  they  are  full  of  oil  and  marrow, 
or  roasted,  then  cracked  and  eaten  ;  while  the  hide  is  soaked  in 
brine  and  the  hair  taken  off  by  a  scraper,  much  like  our  chopping 
knife — if  indeed  there  be  any  difference — but  by  them  called  ^^ood- 
loo,^'  or,  as  pronounced,  "  hoodloo ;"  it  is  then  washed,  cleaned, 
dried,  and  white-tanned  and  preserved  (dressed)  with  the  brain  of 
the  animal,  in  which  the  skin  is  rubbed  and  kneaded  with  both 
hands  and  feet  until  rendered  quite  soft  and  flexible. 

When  the  supply  of  food  has  been  assured  the  hunters  next  turn 
their  attention  to  the  traps.  They  set  deadfalls,  principally,  for  all 
the  variety  of  animals  captured,  and  are  usually  more  successful 
in  capturing  martins,  than  any  other  game,  the  number  of  these 
animals  annually  captured  being  simply  enormous.  The  next  most  a- 
bundant  species  is  the  beaver ;  then  come  the  otter  and  Canada  lynx ; 
perhaps  the  red  fox  should  come  in  after  the  martin,  at  least  after 
the  beaver,  in  point  of  numbers  at  any  rate.  In  this  manner  the 
encampment,  consisting  perhaps  of  four  men,  three  women,  and  five 
or  six  children,  will  continue  to  work  their  way  five  or  six  hun- 
dred miles  inland  in  winter,  eventually  coming  out  in  the  spring  by 
the  same  road — though  not  always — that  they  went  in  on  the  pre- 
ceding fall,  with  a  load  of  valuable  furs,  and  in  a  half  famished 
condition.  They  then  sell  their  furs,  pay  part  of  their  debts — for 
every  one  gets  large  credit  from  the  traders  who  often  charge  enough 
to  make  up  for  it — and  live  in  plenty  for  a  time  following.  It  looks 
strange  to  see  them,  as  I  have,  furnish  their  wigwam,  or  mishwap ; 
they  borrow  a  stove,  let  the  chimney  run  out  at  the  top  of  the  tent, 
and  try  to  semi-civilize  themselves,  while  they  buy  large  quantities 
of  everything  that  is  eatable  from  the  particular  trader  of  whom 
they  procure  their  goods — generally  each  family  getting  their  pur- 
chases of  a  different  party — and  do  little  for  the  next  month  but 
eat  and  sleep.  They  are,  generally  speaking,  a  peaceable  set,  and 
only  savage  when  their  apparent — to  them  at  least — rights  are  in- 
fringed on.    The  whole  number  on  the  coast  is  about  1400  ;  they  do 


180  A  TRIP  UP  THE  RIVER. 

not  exceed  a  well  ordered  regiment,  and  doubtless  one-half  of  these 
only  could  be  relied  on  to  fight,  even  should  any  real  difficulty 
arise,  which  is  not  likely  to  happen  at  any  time  in  a  country  at  once 
so  cold  and  so  remote  from  human  habitation  generally.  They 
have  enough  sense  to  see  that  it  is  for  their  own  interest  to  keep  on 
good  terms  with  their  white  neighbors, — for  who  would  purchase 
their  furs  if  they  did  not  do  so?  Strangely  enough,  an  Indian 
will  purchase  anything  that,  setting  his  eyes  upon,  he  desires,  pro- 
vided it  come  within  the  reach  of  his  means,  or  that  his  credit  allows ; 
it  may  be  a  shotgun  worth  a  hundred  dollars,  a  boat  worth  twice 
that  amount,  or  a  solid  and  expensive  gold  watch, — and  cases  of  the 
latter  kind  have  occurred  frequently.  I  have  in  mind  one  where 
an  Indian  ordered  and  obtained  a  valuable  gold  watch  and  chain 
worth  about  $150.00 ;  he  used  them  for  awhile,  and  then  exchanged 
it  about  a  month  after  for  a  $3.00  silver  one  that,  at  the  time,  equally 
pleased  his  fancy.  Nor  is  this  either  an  extravagant  or  an  ex- 
ceptional instance  on  record  of  like  stupidity. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  Thursday  the  loth,  I  took  a 
guide  and  went  several  miles  farther  up  the  river.  It  was  a  most 
pleasant  and  delightful  walk.  We  followed  a  winding  path,  or 
portage,  over  a  series  of  hills  and  vales  ;  the  deep  snow  on  which 
we  walked  nearly  covering  a  small  growth  of  firs  and  spruces,  pro- 
bably six  to  eight  feet  high — the  path  lying  over  these.  On  the 
distant  left  rocky  knobs  and  crests,  with  rounded  tops,  were 
everywhere  apparent,  while,  on  the  right,  high  cliffs  bordered 
the  river. 

We  were  now  in  the  valley  of  the  narrow  river.  High  hills  were 
on  either  side ;  beyond  and  ahead,  uprearing  tier  upon  tier,  dark 
blue  and  long,  uneven  ridges  of  crests  had  been  upheaved  by  nature 
towards  the  light  blue  sky  above.  The  river,  bending  to  the  left, 
seemed  to  lose  itself  in  the  distance  among  the  bases  of  one  or  two 
bold  cliffs  which  appeared  to  bar  its  passage.  It  was  a  grand  scene  : 
the  passive  river,  bound  in  ice  and  crowned  with  snow.  At  this 
point  the  stream  is  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  wide.     About  the  same 


TRAINING  THE  DOGS.  181 

distance  can  be  seen  ahead  before  the  chffs  shut  the  view  in  that 
direction.  The  scene  is  one  of  a  vast  inland  lake,  enclosed  on  all 
sides  by  cliffs  and  hills. 

Returning  home  I  had  a  full  view  of  the  ridge  across  which  the 
portage  here  runs.  Like  many,  which  I  saw  in  various  other 
places  about  the  region,  it  is  without  doubt  of  glacial  origin,  and 
was  perhaps  formerly  of  equal  height  with  the  surrounding  elevations 
on  either  side,  but  was  worn  down  by  the  abrasion  of  some  local 
arms  of  the  glacier  entering  the  river  —  perhaps  the  course  of  the 
former  main  glacial  stream  —  at  this  point. 

In  the  evening  I  visited  the  Mission,  and  found  a  young  folks 
party  in  progress.  It  pleased  me  to  see  the  effectual  way  that 
the  teachers  had  taken  to  reach  the  juvenile  hearts,  and  promote, 
for  a  couple  of  weeks  to  come,  scholarly  attainments  in  the  reci- 
tation room. 

Sunday  the  13th.  It  snowed  hard  all  day.  Monday  was  no 
better.  It  was  St.  Valentine's  day,  which  is  here  rigidly  kept  like 
the  majority  of  other  Saints'  days  and  holidays,  as  a  "  fete  day ;" 
no  one  did  any  work,  and  while  the  women  "  slicked  up,"  the  men 
got  "set  up  "  —  if  they  could  find  anything  to  get  set  up  with  —  and 
spent  the  most  of  their  time  in  smoking  and  sleeping.  It  snowed 
steadily  until  Wednesday  morning,  when  it  stopped,  for  a  short  time 
only,  as  if  to  ascertain  the  results,  to  begin  again  with  renewed  force 
and  violence.  Sunday  was  about  one  of  the  most  uncomfortable 
days  I  experienced  during  the  winter.  The  wind  was  cold  and 
piercing,  strong  and  penetrating.  The  ground  was  covered  deep 
with  snow,  and  the  mist  in  the  air  —  if  I  remember  right  —  heavy 
and  wet.  Monday  the  little  puppies,  now  nearly  two-thirds  grown, 
were  broken  into  the  komatik ;  it  was  a  most  curious  sight.  The 
process,  though  it  appears  brutal,  is  the  only  one  that  seems  effect- 
ual. The  young  dogs  are  taken  and  tied  tightly  into  a  harness, 
an  extra  thong  is  passed  into  the  mouth  and  then  tied  above  and 
around  the  whole  muzzle  as  tightly  as  it  can  be  drawn ;  this  is 
done  principally  to  prevent  the  animal  from  biting  the  thongs  and 
freeing  itself.     The  other  end  of  the  harness  is  then  fastened  to 


182  WASHINGTON'S  BIRTHDAY. 

that  of  one  of  the  large  and  fierce  dogs  already  secured  to  the 
sled.  Of  course,  then,  as  the  large  dogs  go,  the  smaller  ones  are 
obliged  to  follow.  If  they  trip  and  fall,  as  they  frequently  do,  the 
big  dog  drags  them  along  until  they  are  jounced  on  to  their  feet 
again.  Thus  on  they  go,  rolling  over  and  over,  bounding  from  side 
to  side,  and  all  the  time  uttering  most  dismal  and  horrible  gi-oans 
and  cries.  Gradually  they  become  actually  hardened  and  seem 
to  enjoy  being  thus  pulled  about,  and  soon  they  are  loosened  and 
harnessed,  several  of  them  separately,  under  the  lead  of  some  old 
head  dog.  After  this  the  best  and  most  obedient  of  them  is  fastened 
to  the  head  dog,  in  advance  of  the  others,  and  taught  to  be  urged 
forward,  or  to  be  turned  to  the  left  or  right  at  the  shout  of  the 
proper  turning  words  from  the  master ;  they  are  then  harnessed 
all  alone  with  this  trained  head  puppy  as  leader,  and  if  they  go  all 
right,  exercise  and  the  whip  alone  are  necessary  to  keep  them  in 
training  and  practice. 

Tuesday,  February  22.  Washington's  birthday!  How  happy 
I  am  that  the  dear  old  gentleman  was  not  born  here  in  this  remote 
frozen  region ;  he  verily  would  have  died  of  the  blues  without 
having  handed  down  to  America  an  event  to  celebrate.  I  fired 
several  rounds  in  honor  of  the  occasion, —  much  to  the  disgust  of 
the  people  with  whom  I  was  staying,  who,  as  Englishmen,  of  course 
cared  little  about  celebrating  any  save  their  own  fete-days  —  and 
concluded  the  day  with  a  walk,  upon  those  curious  articles  the 
rackets,  which  I  will  try  to  describe. 

In  describing  a  walk  in  rackets  I  hardly  know  how,  at  first,  to 
begin.  I  might  follow  on  foot  any  one  of  the  many  excursionists 
who  are  so  constantly  and  continually  going  and  coming;^  to  and 
from  the  interior,  or  the  dwellings  along  the  coast,  but  that,  being  un- 
accustomed to  long  tramps,  I  could  not  give  a  true  account  of  such 
experience ;  or  I  might  give  fanciful  accounts  of  dangers  and 
occurrences  that  possibly  might  have  happened  to  me  or  anyone 
else  unacquainted  with  the  ground  to  be  gone  over  had  such  a 
journey  been  attempted.  I  do  not  like  to  mix  the  fanciful  and  the 
real  unless  circumstances  so  happen  that  there  seems  to  be  no 


ENDURANCE  OF  NATIVES.  183 

escape,  and  yet  I  fear  that  the  faint  description  of  a  really  short, 
but  to  me  long  and  tiresome  walk,  or  rather  tramp  of  this  kind 
which  shall  be  told,  will  be  far  from  giving  you  a  true  idea  of  what 
a  Labradorian  day's  march,  over  hill  and  bay,  may  be.  Though  the 
hills  are  high,  their  caps  snowy,  and  their  sides  slippery ;  though 
strangers  would  soon  be  tired  out  by  excessive  fatigue  in  climbing 
and  slipping  over  them ;  the  people  here  think  no  more  of  it  than 
if  the  tramp  were  one  over  a  level  plain  that  we  would  walk 
with  ease  and  comfort.  The  whole  coast  for  many  miles  inland  is 
one  vast  extent  of  hills,  from  three  to  five  hundred  feet  above 
the  sea  level ;  and  yet  the  men  go  over  them  from  place  to  place, 
visiting  house  after  house,  stopping  simply  for  a  few  moments'  rest 
or  chat  with  some  neighbor,  or  to  eat  a  frugal  meal  at  another's 
hospitality, — for  hospitality  is  offered  here  even  among  those  who  are 
enemies  in  every  other  way,  and  it  is  counted  a  sin  to  refuse  such 
when  houses  are  often  a  day's  march  apart — while  a  day's  march  of 
twenty,  thirty,  and  in  rare  instances  forty  miles,  of  such  travelling 
is  far  from  being  unusual.  One  may  wonder  how  such  journeys 
are  made,  but  it  is  impossible  to  account  for  them  other  than  by  the 
natural  hardihood  of  the  people  here,  who  live  and  thrive  on  the 
coarsest  of  food.  Not  long  since  a  man  walked  a  distance  of 
about  seventy  miles  in  two  days ;  quite  recently,  parties  have  gone 
deer  hunting,  twenty  miles  into  the  interior,  stalking  deer  all 
day,  returning  to  their  simple  cabin  at  night,  having  travelled  forty 
miles.  Nor  are  such  events  uncommon ;  the  people  here  think 
nothing  of  it,  and,  in  fact,  tell  of  the  many  miles  that  they  have 
walked  with  considerable  pleasure.  It  is  of  course  pleasant  to 
ramble  over  these  snow-capped  hills  ;  to  see  the  beauties  of  nature, 
expressed  in  the  indescribable  language  of  nature,  from  elevations 
and  depressions,  from  ponds  and  gorges,  and  snow  alternating  with 
rock  or  discovered  lichens,  or  chilled  vegetation ;  but  a  stroll 
over  a  bay  of  frozen  ice,  with  hills  about  and  around  one,  and 
islands  here  and  there,  while  you  walk  comfortably  along  and  fill 
yourself  with  the  scene,  is,  perhaps,  still  more  pleasant. 

My  walk  from  Old  Fort  Bay  to  Bonne  Esperance  was  undertaken 


184  ENGLISH   VEBSUS  AMERICAN. 

in  honor  of  the  day.  Here  I  was,  in  a  lonely  out-of-the-way 
region  of  the  globe,  midway  between  the  temperate  and  the  arc- 
tic zones,  and  snowed  and  iced  up,  so  to  speak,  from  the  rest 
of  the  world ;  to  this,  add  the  fact  that  I  was  upon  EngHsh  soil, 
and  you  understand  my  feelings.  I  shall  never  forget  in  this 
connection  (though  I  mean  no  offence)  a  passage  in  one  of  Jules 
Verne's  works,  in  which  he  recounts  a  dispute  upon  the  naming  of 
a  point  hitherto  unreached  in  the  unknown  lands  in  the  polar  regions. 
The  parties  were  an  Englishman  and  an  American  ;  both  had  come 
together  unexpectedly  in  search,  the  one  of  the  northwest  passage, 
the  other,  of  the  north  pole ;  the  name  of  Cape  Washington 
was  given  by  the  American.  The  Englishman  angrily  asserted, 
*'  you  might  choose  a  name  less  offensive  to  an  Englishman ;"  to 
which  the  other  replied,  proudly,  "  but  not  one  which  sounds  so 
sweet  to  an  American."  I  am  afraid  that  my  English  friends 
shared  a  touch  of  this  sentiment,  at  least  the  former  part  of  it,  as 
I  maintained  the  national  honor  of  the  occasion  and  fired  a  salute  of 
four  guns  to  the  memory  of  the  day ;  for,  on  coming  to  breakfast, 
I  was  greeted  with  a  sharp,  "what's  that  for?"  and  an  explanation 
only  elicited  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders  accompanied  by  an  humph! 
as  if  of  no  consequence  to  them  and  entirely  unnecessary  on  my 
part. 

After  breakfast  I  prepared  to  carry  out  my  scheme.  It  was 
a  fine  morning,  the  air  was  cold  and  clear,  scarcely  any  wind, 
the  roads  in  tolerably  good  condition  as  I  supposed,  and  all 
nature  invited  me  forth.  In  return  for  the  reception  my  patriot- 
ism of  the  morning  had  received,  I  determined  to  pay  my  friends 
by  not  telling  them  where  1  was  going  —  having  but  one  object 
in  view  all  the  time ;  many  were  their  solicitations,  but  I  was 
firm.  The  dogs  seemed  unusually  happy  as  they  frisked  about  and 
around  me,  and  it  seemed  good  to  get  out  in  the  air ;  so 
putting  on  my  rackets,  with  my  gun  in  hand,  I  started  off.  At  first 
I  had  to  walk  on  the  level  bay  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  head- 
land on  the  left.  The  walking  would  have  been  called  good  by  a 
native   Labradorian  ;  to  me  it  was  terrible,  and  I  stumbled  along 


RACKET  WALK  ACROSS  THE  BAY.  185 


over  ridges  of  drifted  snow  and  patches  of  smooth  ice,  on  which 
as  with  the  schoolboy  it  seemed  as  if  for  every  step  forward  I 
took  two  backward,  and  that  it  would  have  been  much  better  to 
have  turned,  as  he  did,  and  walked  backwards  ;  but  at  last  the  diffi- 
culty was  overcome  and  the  snow  reached  again  when  the  travelling 
was  smooth  for  some  distance. 

The  wind  had  as  yet  hardly  sprung  up,  yet  the  clear  but  rather 
cold  air  was  unusually  invigorating.  The  hills  on  either  side 
looked  quite  fresh  and  clear  in  outline  against  the  sky,  and 
the  day  gave  promise  of  being  unusually  fine.  Everywhere,  snow  ! 
snow  !  snow  !  It  seemed  as  if  the  elements  combined  to  make  bad 
travelling  for  the  sledges,  for  it  is  hard  work  for  the  dogs  to  haul 
the  komatiks  through  the  snow  on  the  bay,  especially  when  the  salt 
water  penetrates  the  ice,  or  rather  the  partially  thawed  top  of  the 
salt  water  ice,  which,  it  must  be  remembered,  requires  a  much  lower 
temperature  to  freeze  than  fresh  water,  alternate  with  the  deep 
ridges  of  soft  snow  ;  but  with  rackets  the  case  is  different  and  these 
snow  heaps  were  just  the  kind  of  material  for  good  walking.  I  soon 
struck  for  the  highland  on  the  left  and  was  just  approaching  a  lit- 
tle opening  between  the  mainland  and  an  island — such  openings 
are  called  here  by  the  name  of  ''tickle"  —  when  a  gust  of  wind 
from  the  northeast,  and  in  the  exact  line  through  which  I  was  to  pass, 
struck  me  fiercely.  The  snow  was  piled  in  deep,  uneven  ridges ; 
cakes  of  ice  had  been  thrown  upon  each  other  by  a  recent  partial 
thaw  blocking  the  way  before  me ;  and  the  wind,  added  to  these 
hindrances,  almost  forced  me  to  abandon  my  design.  The  gust 
swept  fiercely  through  the  narrow  opening,  and  I  was  glad  when 
safe  on  the  other  side  and  once  more  set  out  across  the  long 
stretch  of  bay  between  me  and  the  island  half-way  to  my  stopping 
place. 

The  hills  on  the  coast  receded  on  the  left  in  an  oudine  of  un- 
dulating crests  far  eastward  ;  on  the  far  west  was  the  ridge  of  high 
hills  that  formed  the  entrance  of  Old  Fort  Bay ;  beyond  lay  in- 
numerable islands,  often  so  close  together  that  they  seemed  to  form 


186  AN  ICE  SCENE. 


a  band  of  mainland  in  the  distance  of  several  miles  that  separated 
them  from  me.  On  !  on  !  The  scene  was  one  of  strange  beauty, 
while  words  are  utterly  unable  to  portray  its  grandeur. 

The  ice  and  snow  of  a  winter  on  the  hills  and  plains  of  north- 
ern latitudes  cannot  be  described  to  a  dweller  in  city,  country,  or 
town.  The  few  houses  of  the  region,  miles  apart,  hidden  by  sur- 
rounding cliffs ;  undulating  hill  tops  and  deep  gorges ;  isolated 
knobs,  now  high,  now  low ;  near  ridges  looking  far,  and  far  ones 
looking  near,  the  effects  of  refraction  in  a  clear,  northern  air, — 
all  unite  with  an  irregular  plain  of  level  bay  in  being  covered 
everywhere  with  snow,  snow,  snow  !  A  dull  glare  of  ice,  and 
occasional  bare  places  or  peaks  on  the  rocky  masses  of  hill  —  for 
I  can  call  the  whole  coast  by  no  other  name  —  relieve  occasionally 
a  monotony  of  snow ;  while  the  clouds  above  add  white  masses 
of  stratus  to  the  scene.  Tell  me,  now,  how  can  pen  describe  what 
sight  and  sense  almost  fail  to  appreciate  ?  Arctic  travellers  (not 
that  I  dare  assume  a  place  among  them)  tell  of  the  sights  that 
everywhere  greet  them  and  which  are  indescribable  ;  yet  few  beheve 
them  until  they  likewise  catch  a  glimpse  of  a  similar  display  of 
nature's  arctic  grandeur.  In  the  narrative  of  explorers,  we  read  of 
one  by  one  who  return  to  give  evidence  to  their  truth  and  attempt 
to  describe  similar  experiences. 

The  process  of  walking  on  rackets  is  one  easier  to  describe  than 
to  attain  to  perfection.  The  large  size  of  the  rackets  occasions  an 
unusual  difficulty  in  walking.  The  feet  must  be  kept  quite  wide 
apart,  and  usually  the  proper  step  requires  the  leg  to  be  swung  in 
a  semicircular  direclfton  around  the  racket  of  the  other  foot.  The 
effect  to  the  eye  is  very  peculiar  and  ludicrous  to  one  observing 
it  for  the  first  time ;  and,  in  fact,  to  me  it  always  appears  ludicrous 
to  see  a  man  thus  easily,  though  apparently  awkwardly  and  with 
difficulty,  laboring  his  way  along,  claperty-clap,  as  the  big  pads 
fall  in  their  proper  step  places  on  the  snow,  and  the  person  wear- 
ing them  advances  rapidly  along. 

By  this  time  the  novelty  of  such  a  scene  as  that  I  was  gazing 


DIFFICULT  WALKING.  187 

upon  had  begun  to  wear  away  and  given  place  to  uneasiness  regard- 
ing the  distance  ahead  rather  than  of  that  already  travelled.  The 
walking,  now  that  the  open  bay  was  reached,  began  to  be  anything 
but  good;  for  while  the  lighter  and  more  crispy  —  for  I  can  think 
of  no  other  word  to  express  the  condition  —  the  snow,  the  better 
the  walking,  the  case  is  quite  the  contrary  when  a  partial  thaw  sets 
in  and  renders  the  walking  watery  and  sloshy.  At  such  a  time 
every  hole  in  the  sieve-like  interlacing  of  deerskin,  which  fills  the 
interior  of  the  racket,  is  filled  with  the  sticky  snow,  and  thQ  bars 
covered  also ;  soon,  by  frequent  pressure,  the  upper  side  is  cov- 
ered with  the  same,  and  so  with  the  weight  above,  and  the  sticking 
of  the  snow  beneath,  the  foot  must  fairly  drag  such  a  mass  of  cloggy 
matter  along  with  it  and  the  racket,  and  soon  renders  one  un- 
used to  this  kind  of  walking  quite  weary ;  but  there  is  no  help,  and 
on,  on,  through  the  slosh  and  snow  a  fatiguing  tramp  is  continued. 
It  is  almost  useless  to  stop  and  rest,  as,  strange  to  say,  the  best  rest 
is  to  keep  on  walking.  I  do  not  know  just  how  to  explain  this  ap- 
parent contradiction  ;  the  truth,  however,  is  revealed  by  a  practical 
test.  At  length  the  walking  is  so  bad  that  I  take  off  my  rackets 
and  try  my  dogskin  boots  alone,  though  the  condition  of  things 
is  hardly  improved  until  the  walking  is  bettered  by  an  approach 
to  the  island  before  mentioned,  where  a  layer  of  snow  materially 
helps  the  matter  and  forms  a  pleasant  change  from  the  sticky 
material  that  I  leave  behind. 

After  pressing  on  with  renewed  courage  I  soon  reached  the 
other  side  of  the  island,  and  could  see  Bonne  before  me  about 
three  miles  ahead  with  a  small  point  of  mainland  between  us. 
The  walking  was  now  good,  but  the  weather  had  changed.  The 
wind  blew  hard  from  the  northeast,  and  the  cold  was  biting.  Soon 
the  clouds  began  to  gather,  and,  almost  before  I  knew  it,  the  at 
first  gently  falling  flakes  of  snow  had  agreed  with  the  wind  and 
came  drifting  down  in  perfect  sheets ;  harder  and  harder  came 
the  blinding  storm,  fiercer  and  fiercer  blew  the  wind,  heavier  and 
heavier  became  the  rackets  upon  my  feet,  and  then  the  feet  them- 


188  A  SNOW  FLURRY. 


selves  ;  but  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  keep  up  the  spirits 
and  march  along.  I  have  heard  of  fierce  storms  quickly  aris- 
ing in  these  arctic  regions,  that  frequently  bewildered  the  best  of 
even  native  travellers  and  turned  him  astray  from  an  almost  straight 
road.  I  have,  no  doubt,  frequently  seen  such  from  some  house  or 
safe  harbor  without  fully  appreciating  its  intensity ;  but  I  then  saw 
it  and  felt  its  full  meaning,  though  I  was  too  near  a  shelter  to  be 
lost,  unless  overcome  by  fatigue  or  bewildered  with  fright,  neither 
of  which  seemed  probable  though  of  course  possible.  The  wind 
blew  the  snow  in  fine  dust  all  over  my  clothes,  and  the  cold  pene- 
trated even  the  thick  cloth  of  which  they  were  made.  It  was  a 
terrible  walk  to  the  mainland,  but  I  soon  gained  it,  and  sheltered 
myself  in  the  fish  stage  of  one  of  the  establishments  on  the  east 
side.  Here  I  rested  while  watching  the  storm.  There  was  a  strug- 
gle in  my  mind  as  to  whether  to  proceed  at  once  across  the  small 
bay  to  my  friend's  house  a  distance  of  about  half  a  mile,  or  wait 
until  the  storm  had  passed  ;  a  determination,  however,  to  brave  the 
worst ;  and,  perhaps,  a  sort  of  feeling  that  it  was  better  to  con- 
quer the  elements,  than  be  conquered  by  them,  took  possession  of 
me,  so  I  braced  on  the  rackets  again,  buttoned  my  coat  tightly 
about  me,  and  with  an  extra  pull  to  my  cap  I  started  off.  How  the 
wind  did  blow  !  how  the  blinding  snow  beat  over  and  around  me  ! 
that  half  mile  seemed  longer  than  all  the  other  seven  that  I  had 
gone  over  combined.  At  last  the  other  side  was  reached,  the  well 
known  place  gained,  and  in  a  few  moments  I  was  in  the  presence 
of  the  nicest  and  most  pleasant  family  on  the  coast  of  Labrador, 
without  exception,  while  the  weariness  vanished  as  I  was  greeted 
by  friends  and  sat  down  with  them  to  a  capital  venison  dinner. 

Any  one  who  has  been  half  starved  for  the  space  of  several 
weeks  (almost  months)  on  bread  without  butter,  and  tea  and  coffee 
without  sugar  or  milk,  with  any  kind  of  meat  save  salt  pork  out  of 
the  question,  will  appreciate  a  meal  of  good  food  when  they  get 
it.  The  case  was  mine  exactly ;  and  the  savory  smell  of  a  good 
venison  stew  with  some  large  mealy  potatoes  as  an  addition,  as  it 


BONNE  ESPERANCE  IN  WINTER.  189 


was  put  upon  my  plate,  clouded  my  vision  to  all  other  surround- 
ings, so  that  I  had  eyes  for  this  and  nothing  else,  while  I  lost  all 
sense  of  the  outer  world  in  contemplation  of  that  delicious  plate 
of  food  that  was  being  passed  to  me.  The  tea  with  both  milk  and 
sugar  —  for  Mr.  Whitely's  is  one  of  three  families  on  the  coast  that 
keep  a  cow  —  proved  an  excellent  beverage  ;  while  a  real  currant 
pudding  presented  an  additional  feature  that  was  wholly  irresistible. 
My  friends  must  have  thought  me  a  barbarian  and  half  starved  at 
that ;  the  latter  I  was  without  doubt. 

Few  changes  had  occurred  at  Bonne  since  my  visit  there  in  the 
fall.  The  ice  had  frozen  in  the  bay  in  front  of  the  house,  and  snow 
still  topped  the  summits  of  the  island ;  big  drifts  lay  about  here 
and  there,  showing  the  general  direction  of  the  wind  in  heaping 
them  up,  but  no  one  had  attempted  to  dig  through  them,  and  it 
would  indeed  have  been  labor  lost  since  the  wind  would  surely 
have  filled  the  paths  in  a  single  night  to  their  former  height.  The 
male  portion  of  the  family  occupied  their  time  chiefly  in  most  in- 
teresting conversation  about  deer  and  deer  hunting,  and  some 
eighteen  or  twenty  men  had  already  gone  off  into  the  country  on  a 
hunt ;  the  unusual  abundance  of  these  animals  had  fully  raised 
a  deer  craze  that  attracted  nearly  all  the  eligible  young  men  of  the 
coast.  Already  some  thirty  deer  had  been  killed,  and  others  were 
reported  every  day.  I  saw  a  beautiful  head  and  horns  of  a  young 
buck  shot  by  my  friend,  and  it  truly  was  a  beauty.  One  man 
twice  killed  two  deer  with  a  single  ball ;  this  is  remarkably  fine 
shooting  and  shots  of  this  kind  are  only  made  by  a  good  hunter 
and  one  of  steady  nerves  and  eye.  The  deer,  it  is  said,  are  very 
tame  ;  but  a  man  must  stand  a  great  deal  and  be  able  to  walk  many 
miles  a  day  if  he  would  become  a  deer  hunter  in  this  country ;  and 
though  I  do  not  suppose  I  shall  attempt  a  trip  of  this  kind,  I  can 
yet  hope  that  chance  may  throw  me  in  the  way  of  shooting  one 
of  these  fine  animals.  This  has  been  the  only  fresh  meat  that  the 
people  about  the  river  have  had  this  winter,  excepting  the  small 
piece  each  received  of  the  cow  that  was  killed  late  in   the  fall. 


190 


TO  THE  VICTOR  THE  SPOILS. 


All  game  has  fled,  and  the  only  fear  is  that  the  cupidity  —  I  can 
call  it  nothing  else — of  the  successful  hunters  will  overcome  their 
natural  good  feeling  and  prevent  them  from  making  that  distri- 
bution of  their  spoils  to  the  unsuccessful  ones  that  they  otherwise 
would.  There  is  a  strong  spirit  of  selfishness  among  some  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  coast  who  have  risen  to  comfort  solely  by  their 
own  hard  work,  for  many  that  are  now  poor  might  also  have  become 
comfortably  off  by  their  own  efforts,  had  they  possessed  courage  to 
press  forward  to  the  work. 


t^tA^ 


HOT  WEATHER  — TRIP  TO  AMOUR.  191 


CHAPTER  XII. 


80°  in  winter  —  Trip  eastward  —  Starting  —  Esquimaux  river  and  island  — 
Salmon  bay  —  Bradore  bay  —  Caribou  island  —  Five  leagues  —  Middle 
bay  —  Belles  Amour  —  Over  Bradore  hills  —  L'Anse  and  dunes  —  Blanc 
Sablon  —  L'Anse  Coteau  —  L'Anse  Clair  —  Forteau  —  Amour. 


Thursday,  March  3.  This  was  a  remarkable  day — though  such 
a  day  as  does  at  times  occur  in  this  region.  The  thermometer 
went  steadily  up,  higher  and  higher,  until  about  two  o'clock  it 
reached  80°,  and  hot  enough  to  make  us  all  wish  for  summer  clothing. 
Soon  it  began  to  descend  as  rapidly  as  it  had  risen,  until  in  the 
night  it  must  have  reached  zero,  or  very  near  it,  again.  This,  I 
beHeve,  was  the  hottest  day  that  I  experienced  on  the  coast ; 
summer  or  winter. 

On  Friday  morning,  the  4th  of  March,  I  started  on  my  long 
expected  trip  from  old  Fort  Bay  to  L'Anse  Amour,  a  distance  in 
a  straight  line  of  only  about  thirty-five  miles,  while,  by  the  way  we 
were  obliged  to  go,  along  the  bays  and  points  of  the  coast, 
it  was  nearly,  if  not  quite,  fifty  miles.  It  took  us  two  days  to  go, 
and  as  many  to  return,  while  a  stay  of  the  same  time  at  different 
places  on  the  way  consumed  the  greater  part  of  the  week.  It 
was  a  pleasant  trip,  and  the  time  seemed  only  too  short,  while  it 
was  quite  impossible  to  see  all  the  numerous  sights  and  go  to  all  the 
attractive  places  awaiting  us  on  every  hand.  The  weather  was 
most  beautiful,  and  the  air  in  a  continual  state  of  exhilarating 
freshness.  Only  one  or  two  small  flurries  of  snow  passed  over 
us,  while,  for  the  most  part,  the  sky  was  of  a  cloudless  blue. 
Occasionally  a  light  haziness  concealed  the  sun,  and  once  a  dark 


192  PREPARING  FOR  A  TRIP. 


gathering  in  the  southwest  reminded  one  forcibly  of  the  coming  on 
of  a  thunderstorm  as  we  frequently  see  it  at  home.  Once,  also,  a 
light  fog  arose.  I  mention  it  simply  because  our  guide  said  that 
it  was  very  rare  to  see  a  fog  in  the  month  of  March.  The  cool 
breezes  were  mostly  from  points  from  north  to  south  by  east.  The 
cold  was  not  intense,  and  at  no  time  did  I  find  it  necessary  to  wear 
an  overcoat  over  the  heavy  clothes  that  I  had  on  though  it  proved  a 
very  convenient  cushion  for  the  komatik.  I  think  there  was  but 
one  day  when  the  sun  thawed  the  snow ;  but  the  roads  were  good 
all  the  time.  Over  hill  and  on  bay,  wherever  we  went  the  travelling 
was  good,  for  dogs  properly  shod,  and  there  was  no  reason  to 
complain  of  it.  We  did  not  need  rackets,  and  the  snow  was  good 
and  firm,  while  a  beaten  path  most  of  the  way  united  with  everything 
else  to  make  my  journey  a  most  enjoyable  affair. 

In  starting  upon  a  journey,  in  these  parts,  little  or  no  provision 
is  made  for  food  upon  the  way,  unless  the  distance  to  be  passed 
over  contains  no  houses  ;  for,  as  I  have  frequently  observed,  to 
refuse  hospitality  even  to  an  enemy  is  considered  the  worst  crime 
of  which  a  man  here  can  be  guilty.  That  important  matter  settled, 
the  articles  to  be  carried  are  carefully  selected.  As  it  requires  no 
great  time  to  select  the  articles  for  such  a  trip,  one  is,  so  to  speak, 
ready  at  any  time  for  a  journey. 

Friday  we  were  awake  and  about  bright  and  early.  The  day  was 
fair,  and  it  was  not  long  before  a  hearty  breakfast  was  awaiting  us. 
After  our  simple  meal  we  hastily  got  together  our  effects  and 
lashed  them  to  the  komatik.  They  presented  the  appearance  of 
of  a  rather  high  cushion,  and  could  be  easily  taken  for  a  seat 
prepared  for  the  occasion.  Large  sacks  of  rough  bagging  for  carry- 
ing articles  which  might  be  picked  up  on  the  way,  such  as  food  or 
meat  for  the  dogs,  etc.,  we  added  two  such  bags  to  our  list,  and 
with  our  overcoats,  a  pair  of  rackets  in  case  such  should  be  needed 
on  account  of  the  roads,  and  my  gun,  the  equipment  was  as  com- 
plete as  it  was  simple. 

The  harnessing  of  the  dogs  did  not  take  long.  The  early  hour, 
and  the  unusual  stir  seemed  to  show  them  that  something  out  of 


PREPARING  FOR  OUR  JOURNEY^^  -,         193 


5^ 


the  ordinary  course  of  proceedings  was  in  order,  and  they  tod 
showed  their  dehght  at  the  prospect  by  their  gambols  and  froHcs. 
It  was  really  somewhat  difficult  work  to  harness  them.  They  would 
allow  themselves  to  be  caught  only  with  great  difficulty,  and  then 
would  soon  manage  one  way  or  another  to  break  loose  just  when 
we  thought  we  had  secured  them,  and  were  off  again  barking  at 
us  from  behind  the  woodpile  some  yards  distant.  It  is  a  matter  of 
no  small  difficulty  to  "rig"  a  komatik  for  a  trip,  getting  all  the  lashings 
and  the  ropes  in  proper  order,  especially  when  seven  dogs  are  to  be 
caught  and  harnessed  separately,  their  lines  fastened  to  the  petook 
(if  this  is  the  proper  spelling,  which  I  could  not  ascertain  cer- 
tainly), being  what  we  call  the  rope  to  a  sled.  The  coldness 
of  the  air  chilled  our  fingers ;  the  dogs  provoked  us  with  their 
uncalled-for  gambols  and  frolics,  refusing  to  be  caught,  though 
they  seemed  to  regard  it  as  great  sport.  At  last  the  three  large 
dogs  and  the  three  puppies,  which  latter  had  lately  been  broken 
in  were  all  harnessed  ;  the  effects  mentioned  were  tightly  strapped 
on  the  sled,  and  all  was  ready.  It  is  a  curious  sight  to  see  the 
dogs  thus  harnessed  striving  to  start  the  sled,  each  on  his  own 
account.  When  the  last  one  is  harnessed,  if  the  team  is  a  good 
one,  each  dog  starts  off  with  a  run  in  a  separate  direction  ;  it  needs 
a  good  driver  to  control  them  or  hold  them  in,  or  I  should  say 
hold  the  sled  in,  until  he  is  ready  to  start.  The  effect  presented 
reminds  one  much  of  the  directions  in  which  the  five  fingers  point 
when  the  hand  is  spread  out  to  its  fullest  extent.  Each  dog  starts  off 
with  a  rush,  brings  up  at  the  end  of  his  harness  with  a  thug,  as  the 
narrow  but  short  sealskin  thong  tightens,  and  the  dog  is  elevated 
several  feet  in  the  air.  The  driver  stands  holding  the  komatik  back 
with  both  hands  by  main  force,  while  he  shouts  at  the  top  of  his 
voice  to  the  dogs,  with  very  little  effect,  to  stop  them  or  hold  them 
in  until  he  is  ready.  It  was  a  cold  morning,  but  we  had  not  long 
to  wait.  Hurrying  out  of  doors,  and  waving  good-bye,  we  were  off 
the  moment  the  hi,  hi,  hi,  told  that  all  was  ready. 

When  a  team  of  good  dogs  first  starts  off  it  is  almost,  and  one  might 
13 


194  FROM  OLD  FORT  BAY  TO  THE  RIVER. 

well  say  quite,  impossible  to  guide  them.  They  will  start  off  in  any 
direction  of  their  own  accord,  perhaps  towards  the  very  opposite 
side  of  the  bay,  and  it  is  not  until  the  first  rush  is  over,  and  they 
have  somewhat  abated  their  eagerness,  that  the  driver's  guiding 
words  are  heeded  at  all.  At  last  the  head  dog  minds  the  voice 
and  gradually  turns  into  the  right  track,  when  the  others  follow 
a  little  behind,  and  the  trip  is  really  begun.  It  was  thus  with  us, 
when  at  five  minutes  past  eight  o'clock  we  started  off  in  the  face 
of  a  good  cool  breeze  from  the  north,  in  a  clear  air,  with  a  bright 
sun  shining  on  us  from  an  almost  perfectly  cloudless  sky,  for  our 
trip  to  the  eastward. 

The  road  from  Old  Fort  Bay  to  the  river,  the  same  which  I  had 
gone  over  in  komatik  and  on  foot  so  many  times,  was  not  changed 
much  this  morning ;  of  course  one  would  hardly  expect  it  to  change, 
except  by  accumulation  or  disappearance  of  snow  and  the  thawing 
and  freezing  anew  of  the  ice  of  the  bay.  The  same  level  platform 
of  thick  ice  (broken  only  on  the  sides  of  the  bay  near  the  foot  of 
the  hills,  while  its  surface  by  a  slight  recent  thaw  was  covered  with 
innumerable  sharp  needles  of  ice  pointing  upward  occasioned  by 
a  smart  frost  in  the  midst  of  the  thaw,  rendering  the  going  anything 
but  good  for  the  dogs'  feet)  spread  before  us  for  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  the  first  portage,  or  path  over  the  low  hills,  to  the  nearest 
pond  over  which  one  is  obliged  to  travel.  As  we  rode  through  this 
long,  narrow  cleft  of  the  hills,  I  could  not  but  think  of  the  mighty 
force  that  had  here  been  at  work  for  centuries  to  render  the  place 
what  it  is ;  as  also  of  the  process  by  which  indentations  were  made 
that  left  a  succession  of  peaks  separated  by  partial  valleys  on  either 
side,  from  the  mouth  of  the  bay  to  the  bottom,  and  extending  for- 
ward and  inward  in  successive  chains  far  into  the  interior ;  and  of 
the  gorges  and  individual  shape  of  each  crest,  bending  gently 
down  to  the  water  from  the  upper  end  of  the  bay,  while  ending 
generally  in  rather  abrupt,  low,  and  yet  often  nearly  perpendicular 
cliffs  or  cliff-like  rocks  on  each  side.  Then  the  probable  agency 
in  polishing  the  rocks,  often  quite  smooth,  and  in  rounding  off  the 


NATURE  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  195 

peaks — for  it  is  seldom  that  you  anywhere  see  a  pointed  hill  top  — 
and  apparently  shaping  the  whole  general  appearance  of  hills, 
valleys,  and  surrounding  elevations  and  depressions. 

Thus  thinking,  we  rode  swiftly  and  pleasantly  along  the  bay ;  we 
crossed  the  first  portage,  over  a  low  bank,  with  hills  on  either 
side,  at  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  bottom  of  the  bay,  where 
a  rather  high  hill  slopes  to  the  water  and  forms  its  boundary  line, 
and  descended  to  the  first  pond.  This  pond  is  on  the  same  level 
as  the  bay,  and  separated  from  it  by  only  a  low  ridge  of  land  from 
which  the  rock  of  the  region  crops  out  on  all  hands.  It  is  nestled 
in  a  hollow  with  hills  all  around  it  while  the  outline,  more  or 
less  circular  in  form,  encloses  an  area  of  perhaps  a  half  a  mile. 
Across  this  we  go,  and  then  slowly  glide  along  the  second  portage 
which,  like  the  ridge  containing  it,  is  nearly  on  a  level  with  the 
pond.  On  the  right,  the  low,  rather  swampy  looking  level  is  covered 
with  the  gnarled  trunks  and  stems  of  the  dwarf  birch  so  common  in 
this  locality,  the  Betula  populifolia  of  the  botanists,  and  the  best 
fire-wood  that  the  region  affords,  while  on  the  left  we  pass  close 
to  a  long,  perpendicular  wall  of  rock  that,  rising  some  six  feet  and 
extending  some  fifty  in  an  even  line,  abruptly  ends  the  ridge  in 
this  place  ;  its  surface  is  as  smooth  as  if  polished  by  some  mighty 
force,  and  yet  I  saw  no  scratches,  or  even  signs  of  cleavage  any- 
where upon  its  face.  The  extent  of  this  portage  is  about  the 
same  as  that  of  the  one  we  had  recently  passed. 

We  now  descend  a  little  to  a  second  pond  ;  a  very  small  stream  of 
good  drinking  water  (to  which  a  large  hole  has  been  made  through 
the  snow)  runs  along  this  path.  This  pond  was  soon  passed,  and 
after  ascending  a  low  bank  similar  to  that  we  crossed  in  going 
to  the  first  pond,  and  like  it  a  low  ridge  between  hills,  we  de- 
scended to  the  river.  Esquimaux  or  St.  Paul's  river,  as  it  is  called 
— the  latter  being  the  proper  name,  though  it  figures  upon  the 
charts  as  the  former,  —  is  peculiar  in  many  respects.  Its  mouth 
is  quite  large,  and  with  several  flexures  or  bends  ;  while  Esquimaux 
Island  lies  directly  on  the  right  hand,  leaving  only  a  small,  narrow, 


196  SCENERY  AROUND  ESQUIMAUX  ISLAND. 

and  almost  straight  passage  to  the  open  sea  beyond.  About  seven 
miles  inland  the  river  narrows,  passes  some  rapids,  then  enlarges 
again  to  the  next  series  of  rapids,  beyond  which  I  have  not  been. 
The  waters  are  covered  with  ice  the  greater  part  of  the  time  from 
November  to  June.  The  broad  bay-like  portion,  on  which  we  now 
entered,  is  everywhere  surrounded  with  high  hills  which  resemble 
those  inland.  Several  deep  indentations,  formerly  the  sites  of  one 
or  more  houses,  but  which  have  been  abandoned  from  unknown 
causes,  are  to  be  seen  on  the  left,  as  we  enter  the  western  side  and 
observe  Esquimaux  Island  in  the  near  distance  in  front  of  us ; 
while  the  water  reaches  the  sea  on  the  right,  and  the  tops  only  of 
several  little  islands  appear  to  relieve  in  summer  the  otherwise  open 
sea,  and  in  winter  the  level  ice.  It  is  a  wild  scene, — nothing  but 
snow-capped  hills,  in  the  distance,  above  and  around,  while  huge 
heads  of  rocks  jut  out  in  long,  stubbed,  and  rounded  points  of  land, 
dividing  the  bay-like  river  bend  into  several  smaller  pond-like  bends 
or  bays.  We  skim  along  over  the  ice,  in  our  hobgoblin  team  of 
dogs  with  sled,  enjoying  the  beauty  of  nature  thus  opened  to  us  in 
her  icy  realm,  and  drink  in  the  fresh,  yet  not  too  cold,  air  that 
stings  our  ears  and  gives  us  ruddy  faces. 

The  usual  path  to  the  mission  is  soon  traversed,  and  we  pass  on 
our  right  the  long,  even,  low  sloping  ridge  on  the  north  side  of 
Esquimaux  Island  with  rather  higher  crests  on  either  side,  extend- 
ing still  further  north,  the  whole  looking  as  if  it  might  once  have 
been  the  terminus  of  some  glacial  mass  that  swept  over  it,  as  well 
probably  as  of  most  of  these  regions,  and  on  our  left  the  group  of 
some  eight  or  ten  houses  which,  with  the  church,  constitute  the 
winter  quarters  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood.  Now  we 
enter  a  small  bend  in  that  side  of  the  river  directly  ahead  of  us, 
which  leads  to  a  gorge-like  opening  between  either  two  very  high 
hills  (high  for  this  region)  or  a  single  hill  cleft  in  twain  by  some 
mighty  force,  the  latter  of  which  is  more  probable,  and  begin  to 
climb  the  steep  bank  above  covered  with  short  spruce  and  fir  trees, 
by  a  narrow  and  winding  portage.     Up,  up  the  bank  we  cHmb, 


LAC  SALE.  197 


at  least  the   dogs   climb  while  we  get  off  the  sled  and  walk,  at 
the  top  of  which  we  still  see  the  hills  apparently  four  times  the 
distance  we  have  reached  above  us ;  a  walk  of  a  few  hundred  rods 
brings  us  to  the  opposite  slope.    On  our  left  the  huge  mass  of  rock 
that  forms  the   greater  part  of  the    hill  has  been  broken   off  or 
rent  asunder  with  the  greatest  nicety,  presenting   huge   columns 
of  granite,  more  or  less  square,  on  a  nearly  perpendicular  face  of 
rock.    If  you  take  a  piece  of  paper  (stiff  writing  paper  is  the  best) 
fold  it  backwards  and  forwards  in  creases  about  three-eighths  to 
five-eighths  of  an  inch  thick  alternately,  it  will  give  you  a  very 
fair  representation  of  the  cliff  as  I  saw  it :  nor  did  I  see  a  cor- 
responding rent  anywhere  in  the  rock  on  the  opposite  side.     We 
now  descended  the  slope  and  entered  the  pond-like  arm  of  the 
river,  or  lac  sale,  as  it  is  here  called,  which  signifies  a  salt  lake,  or 
a  salt  water  lake-like  bay  of  the  sea  or  river,  which  latter  it  is  in  this 
case.     We  had  a  nice  path  across  lac  sale,  as,  in  fact,  we  did  on 
nearly  or  quite  all  the  ponds  between  there  and  our  journey's  end, 
and  on  this  little  arm  of  the  sea,  not  a  mile  in  uneven  extent  of 
coast  line,  we  saw  hills,  cliffs,  and  wooded  slopes  on  either  hand 
around,  nor  was  the  passage  through  which  we  were  to  pass  visible 
anywhere  before  us.     It  was  a  complete  picture,  and  worthy  the 
pencil  of  an  artist. 

We  crossed  a  small  pond  directly  after  passing  the  salt  lake  just 
mentioned,  and  enclosed,  like  it,  with  high  hills  on  either  side. 
It  was  about  on  the  same  level  with  the  water  which  we  passed.  Be- 
tween lac  sale  and  this  pond,  we  found  a  long,  narrow  pass,  where 
the  rocks  came  close  to  the  passage  with  their  abrupdy  broken 
sides  and  edges  gently  sloping  upward  to  low,  rounded  crests  on 
either  hand.  Through  the  pass  thus  formed  flowed  a  small  stream 
of  water  running  over  rocks,  the  bed  of  a  brook,  and  evidently 
broken  pieces  from  the  neighboring  hills.  It  formed  a  pretty  sight 
to  see  this  little  stream  in  such  a  natural  and  yet  rather  unlooked-for 
place,  and  the  broken  ice  above  showed  the  quite  clear  water  as  it 
flowed  gently  beneath. 


198  COUNTRY  ABOUT  SALMON  BAY. 

Soon  these  scenes  of  picturesque  beauty  began  to  be  familiar 
to  us  though  we  never  tired  of  them ;  while  the  new  scenes  or  new 
variations  of  old  scenes  repeated  the  picture  in  a  more  beautiful 
manner  and  added  the  charm  of  freshness  and  expected  change 
to  those  which  were  to  come.  The  long,  narrow  portages  soon 
gave  way  to  wider  and  broader  tracts  of  country  through  which  the 
way  wound  as  before.  The  hills  were  reduced  to  low  crests,  and 
open  field-like  slopes  on  ridge  and  high  level  plains  appeared  in 
the  distance.  We  soon  crossed  Salmon  Bay,  coming  out  of  a  long 
arm-like  expansion  of  the  neighboring  lands,  and  which  formed  the 
centre  of  three,  all  similar  expansions,  the  right  and  left  of  which 
appeared  more  like  sort  of  bays  or  rounded  arms,  as  one  looked 
back  upon  the  view  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay.  One  or 
two  houses  were  visible,  the  first  seen  since  leaving  the  river,  a 
distance  of  some  five  or  six  miles  behind  us.  And  here  we  came 
to  another  of  these  strangely  formed  places  or  ridge-like  openings 
in  the  valley,  between  hills  so  often  seen  in  different  places  all  along 
the  coast,  and  which  remind  one  of  artificial,  though  they  are  in 
truth  quite  natural,  terraces.  The  height  of  this  formation  is  about 
thirty  feet,  its  top  is  nearly  level.  On  the  left,  looking  towards  the 
sea,  are  the  high  hills  of  Bradore  —  though  I  do  not  mean  the  Bra- 
dore  hills  so  called,  which  are  over  eleven  hundred  feet  in  height 
and  situated  some  way  back  in  the  country,  while  those  of 
which  I  speak  form  the  boundary  of  Bradore  Bay  on  its  extreme 
western  side  and  are  only  about  four  hundred  feet  high — with  a 
rather  abrupt  slope  to  this  ridge.  On  the  right  a  rather  low  crest 
separated  it  from  the  sea.  The  ridge  itself  slopes  to  the  water 
on  each  side,  at  an  angle  of  about  30°  on  the  Salmon  Bay,  and  by 
a  gentle  rather  than  abrupt  slope  on  the  seaward  side.  The  ridge 
points  in  a  northeastward  and  southwestward  direction  as  do  most 
other  similar  ridges  where  I  have  seen  them,  and  the  direction  of 
the  slopes,  and  general  appearance  of  the  top  of  the  plateau 
suggest  to  one's  mind  the  final  resting  place  of  some  arm  of  the 
mighty  Labrador  glacier  before  or  rather  during  the  final  plunge  of 


CARIBOU  ISLAND  AND  VICINITY.  199 

its  huge  mass  of  ice  into  the  sea.  Surely  these  well- defined  and 
pecuHar  shaped  plateaus  are  of  glacial  origin,  and  being  in  all 
cases,  so  far  as  I  have  seen  them,  of  pretty  much  the  same  form 
and  shape,  the  suggestion  is  of  a  common  glacial  one.  Before  we 
leave  the  subject  a  few  words  about  Salmon  Bay  may  be  of  interest. 
Salmon  Bay,  like  the  majority  of  the  long,  fiord-like  bays  so  numerous 
on  the  coast  east  of  it,  is  a  long,  rather  narrow  inlet,  about  four 
miles  in  length,  extending  into  the  land  in  a  northwesterly  di- 
rection. At  its  mouth  Caribou  Island,  a  little  island  a  mile  wide 
and  a  mile  and  a  half  in  extent,  occupies  the  greater  part  of  the 
western  side  of  the  entrance ;  beyond  a  small  pond-like  piece  of 
water,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  either  direction,  is  nearly 
enclosed  by  the  small  points  of  land  that  reach  towards  each  other 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  basin  which  admits  one  to  the  bay 
proper.  In  summer  this  is  the  seat  of  one  of  the  largest  fishing 
posts  on  this  portion  of  the  coast.  Some  eight  or  ten  establish- 
ments here  employ  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  seven 
cod  seines  valued  at  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  are  used  in  the 
fisheries. 

I  must  not  forget  that  the  country  to  the  east  of  Salmon  Bay, 
and  before  reaching  the  high  cliffs  and  bluffs  just  next  the  river,  is 
rather  low,  and  made  up  of  rounded  crests  of  hills  covered  here  and 
there  with  a  scanty  vegetation,  presenting  something  of  the  appear- 
ance of  a  hilly  New  England  farm  lot.  The  tops  of  the  hills  were 
strewed  with  a  few  loose  stones  either  broken  from  the  rocks  them- 
selves or  left  there  by  some  agency  of  ice  or  water.  The  same 
general  features  existed  in  most  parts  of  the  bay  on  both  sides, 
and  as  I  looked  upon  the  scene  I  could  almost  imagine  the  mighty 
force  that,  slowly  pushing  itself  and  creeping  onward  by  its  own 
plastic  mobility  down  the  channels  from  some  interior  region, 
gradually  ground  off  these  hill  tops,  and  scattered  these  stones,  while 
it  levelled  the  feeble  barriers  that  attempted  to  confine  it  to  the 
land,  and  buried  itself  in  the  sea. 

From  Salmon  Bay,  across  a  narrow  plateau-like  ridge,  we  de- 
scended to  the  sea  again — frozen  in  a  mass  of  icy  needles  that  flashed 


200  FIVE  LEAGUES  AND  VICINITY. 

and  glittered  in  the  sun,  most  treacherous  and  cutting  to  the  dogs' 
feet,  the  precursors  and  frequent  occasion  of  that  malady,  so  terrible 
in  these  regions,  snow  blindness  —  and  continued  our  course — with 
a  glimpse  of  the  far-off  shores  of  Newfoundland,  towards  which 
spread  an  icy  plain  with  a  distant  channel  of  open  water,  at  our  right, 
and  the  shore,  skirted  with  the  broken  and  fantastically  shaped 
blocks  of  ice  that  lay  piled,  in  all  sorts  of  positions,  on  or  against 
each  other  often  several  feet  high,  like  tide  marks  on  the  left, — 
across  the  three  full  miles  of  Five  Leagues  Harbor  to  Five  Leagues 
Point,  the  residence  of  a  well  known  and  thrifty  fisherman  and 
seal-catcher.  Taking  a  cup  of  tea  here,  we  continued  our  way  to 
Middle  Bay,  on  the  east  side  of  which,  with  another  friendly  ac- 
quaintance, we  took  our  dinner  and  nooning  before  continuing 
farther.  As  we  had  made  full  sixteen  miles  since  morning,  both 
the  dogs  and  ourselves  needed  and  enjoyed  this  rest.  After  our  din- 
ner, which  consisted  of  bread  and  tea,  the  latter  a  concoction  of  the 
twigs  or  rather  boughs  of  the  spruce,  which  are  often  used  as  a 
substitute  for  the  real  article  and  so  carefully  prepared  that  it  is 
sometimes  hard  to  distinguish  from  an  inferior  quality  of  it,  we  har- 
nessed our  dogs,  and  were  once  more  on  our  journey. 

I  cannot  quite  recollect  the  exact  position  of  the  house  of  this 
hospitable  fisherman,  or  of  a  large,  old-fashioned,  red-painted, 
country  looking  house  that  we  passed  somewhere  here,  which  looked 
more  like  a  comfortable  establishment  than  any  I  had  seen  for  a 
long  while,  and  which,  though  I  did  not  stop  there,  no  doubt 
would  have  fully  equalled  the  expectations  excited  from  the  outside 
appearance.  Behind  this  was  another  of  those  peculiar  ridges 
such  as  have  been  mentioned  as  occurring  in  other  localities.  As 
the  direction  of  Middle  Bay  is  about  north  northeast,  this  narrow 
ridge  barely  separates  the  eastern  baylet  —  if  I  may  use  the  word  — 
of  the  bottom  of  the  bay,  from  the  western  baylet  of  the  opposite 
or  Belles  Amour  Bay.  The  intervening  neck  (the  ridge  I  have 
mentioned)  extends  outward  on  either  side  and  forms  a  square 
block  of  land  nearly  two  miles  each  way ;  on  this  are  one  or  two 


BRADORE  AND  VICINITY.  201 

fishing  establishments  that  yield  or  ought  to  yield  a  good  profit  to 
their  owners,  but  I  sadly  fear  that  industry  is  greatly  crippled  here 
as  in  other  places  about  the  Labrador  coast,  by  a  feeling  that  says 
let  well  enough  (which  is  sometimes  poor  at  best)  alone,  and  hin- 
ders any  real  progress  either  in  wealth  or  desire  for  cultivating  the 
intellectual  qualities. 

I  have  been  struck  with  the  really  musical  and  pretty  names  which 
appear  all  along  the  coast,  and  bear  the  marks  of  that  society  lan- 
guage— the  French.  Belles  Amours  signifies  something  like  loves 
or  passions  of  beautiful  women,  and  undoubtedly  took  its  name  from 
some  conquest  of  love  by  or  over  some  fair  inhabitant  of  the  place. 

We  now  descended  to  the  famous  Bradore  bay,  the  "  Brest"  of 
the  early  inhabitants  when  Cartier  discovered  the  St.  Lawrence, 
when  Cabot  discovered  Newfoundland,  and  when  Corterel  is  said 
to  have  discovered  Labrador.  The  shape  of  this  bay  is  very  nearly 
that  of  an  acute  angled  triangle  —  the  upper  side,  extending  due 
east  by  north,  in  an  almost  straight  line  for  nearly  seven  miles ;  the 
other  side  (which  I  shall  call  the  outer  side)  due  north  by  slightly 
west  (the  centre  part  bulging  out  giving  to  the  whole  side  the  appear- 
ance of  a  bent  bow  with  the  end  slightly  recurved)  for  six  miles  ; 
while  the  base,  or  a  straight  line  from  the  extremity  of  Stony  Point 
its  western,  to  the  extremity  of  Grand  Point  its  eastern,  boundary, 
the  distance  is  eight  miles.  The  only  island  of  any  account  in 
this  large  bay  is  called  the  Ledges  Island  and  is  about  a  mile  wide 
by  a  mile  and  a  half  long  only.  It  is  about  a  mile  from  shore  near 
the  centre  of  the  outer  side,  and,  with  a  few  scattering  rocks,  forms 
a  mass  of  dangerous  shoals  in  this  northeastern-  end  of  the  bay. 

The  little  island  near  the  land  on  the  extremity  of  the  outer  side, 
and  quite  near  Grand  Point,  is  Paroquet  (also  spelled  Peroquet) 
Island.  It  is  a  very  small  island,  a  mere  rock  rather  than  island 
scarcely  half  a  mile  in  either  direction,  but  small  as  it  is  it  is  as  noted 
perhaps  in  its  way  as  any  of  the  larger  islands  on  the  coast.  As  its 
name  would  indicate,  it  is  the  abode  of  the  paroquet  or  puffin,  the 
sea  parrot  as  it  is  called,  or  the  Fratercula  arcticus  of  the  or- 
nithologists.    On  this  small  island  thousands  of  these  plump  litde 


.202  SCENE  ON  BRADORE  HEIGHTS. 

birds,  with  their  huge  scissors-shaped,  horny  bills,  collect  in  the  sum- 
mer and  breed  in  large  companies.  Their  nests  are  made  in  holes 
in  the  ground,  which  is  tunnelled  with  their  burrows  in  every 
direction.  A  great  trick  of  the  inhabitants  with  strangers  who  visit 
this  island  is  to  get  some  person  —  the  greener  the  better — to 
put  his  hand  into  the  hole  when  the  bird  is  within  sitting  upon  its 
eggs.  If  you  could  but  see  the  bill,  you  would  readily  understand 
why  the  attempt  is  never  made  a  second  time.  Imagine  a  huge  pair 
of  horny  scissors,  two  inches  long,  two  inches  high  at  the  base,  and 
half  an  inch  thick  yielded  with  force,  and  no  wonder  one  does  not 
care  to  repeat  the  experiment. 

As  the  ice  in  Bradore  bay  was  not  all  quite  fast,  that  is,  as  open 
water  appeared  on  it  in  many  places,  we  were  obliged  to  take  to 
the  hills  and  cross  by  the  land.  The  hills  and  high  cliffs  which 
everywhere  skirt  the  north  shore,  sometimes  almost  perpendicular  to 
the  water  at  their  base,  sustain  a  plateau  extending  far  back  into  the 
country.  A  mass  of  hillocks  crowns  its  summit,  varying  from 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  to  three  hundred  and  twenty-five 
feet  above  the  sea-level.  The  whole  plateau,  if  I  may  so  call  it, 
spreads  out  for  a  long  distance  inland,  and  forms  nearly  or  quite  all 
the  country  upon  the  upper  side  of  the  bay  line.  During  our  whole 
ride  over  these  hills  the  constant  sight  of  something  new,  the 
unlooked-for  contrasts  presented  here  and  there,  rendered  the  trip 
across  them  a  source  of  pleasure  and  delight  —  one  well  worthy 
the  express  journey  of  some  geologist  or  glacial  specialist,  who 
should  read  to  us  the  sermons  these  rocks  contain.  Now  a  long  and 
wide  (almost  level)  plain  with  its  rather  uneven  surface  would  end  in 
a  row  of  low  crests  of  unequal  height,  beyond  which  the  slope  would 
carry  us  some  fifty  or  seventy-five  feet  to  a  pond ;  beyond  a  varied 
plain  and  hilly  patch  of  ground  would  often  give  place  to  another 
pond,  almost  at  a  level  with  the  surrounding  hillocks.  Snow  covered 
almost  everything,  and  only  the  rounded  or  broken  hill-tops,  and 
the  rough  pieces  scattered  from  their  place  in  the  rock  thus  crushed, 
or  scattered  over  the  slopes  by  some  mighty  agency,  here  and  there, 


BRADORE  TO  BLANC   SABLON.  203 

rather  evenly  though  sparingly  deposited,  alone  offered  a  glimpse  of 
the  appearance  of  the  surface  beneath  the  snow.  These  blocks 
were  for  the  most  part  very  angular,  often  nearly  square ;  occasion- 
ally a  rounded  one  appeared,  and  I  saw  one  huge,  almost  round 
stone,  nearly  two  feet  through  each  way,  balanced  nicely  between  two 
upright  rocks,  while  on  the  opposite  side  an  almost  perfect  and 
solid  block  cube  of  stone  was  nicely  balanced  upon  the  fine  point 
of  a  small  upright  chip  of  rock,  from  which  but  a  slight  push  would 
have  dislodged  it, —  as  also  the  rounded  stone  opposite  —  showing 
that  the  force  or  agency  that  left  it  there  could  hardly  have  been  a 
convulsive,  but  rather  a  slow-moving  and  methodical  one.  At  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  bay  we  took  to  the  ice  again,  and  finding  it 
firm  and  hard  we  skirted  along  the  edge  of  the  outer  side,  and 
crossing  Grand  Point  —  where  the  formation  begins  to  differ  from 
what  I  have  just  described,  and  to  take  on  the  aspect  of  the  whole 
plateau  this  side  of  Bradore  and  extending  to  Forteau  bay,  a  distance 
of  some  eleven  miles  across,  being  a  sandstone  deposited  in  regular 
layers  of  which  I  shall  speak  soon  —  we  landed  at  Blanc  Sablon, 
the  eastern  termination  or  boundary  line  of  the  Province  of  Quebec. 

Beyond,  the  whole  broad  plateau  or  table-land  of  Labrador 
proper  extends.  It  exists  as  a  dependent  of  the  provincial  gov- 
ernment of  British  Newfoundland,  to  which  Labrador  pays  duty 
and  tribute  in  the  shape  of  revenue  on  all  goods  received  within 
its  boundaries. 

I  will  now  speak  of  a  little  cove  on  the  southern  end  of  this 
eastern  side  of  Bradore  bay.  I  am  almost  certain  that  it  is  that 
portion  marked  in  the  charts  where  the  water  encroaches  upon  the 
land  in  a  semicircular-like  baylet  almost  directly  opposite  Paroquet 
Island.  I  discovered  here  a  beach  of  pure  sand,  extending  backward 
into  a  series  of  regular  hillocks  of  sand  or  sand  dunes,  as  they  are 
called,  which  rise  above  the  level  of  the  surrounding  country  back  of 
them.  That  they  appear  in  this  place,  marking  as  they  seem  to  do 
the  separation  between  the  Bradore  granite  and  Blanc  Sablon  sand- 
stone, and  running  away  back  in  gentle  slope  to  what  seems  to  have 
been  once  a  bay  of  the  sea  with  its  nearly  level  extension  between  a 


204  L'ANSE  AUX  DUNES. 


high  plateau  on  either  side,  is  perhaps  rather  remarkable,  and  of 
geological  interest.  The  peculiar  name  given  to  this  place  of 
L'Anse  aux  Dunes,  would  seem  appropriate  were  the  word  dunes  in 
French  translated  dunes  in  English  —  the  word  a7ise  signifying  a 
small  bay  or  cove.  Here  five  or  six  men  set  some  nine  nets  for 
seal  in  the  spring,  and  also  catch  a  few  salmon  and  cod  in  the 
summer,  but  it  is  only  a  small  station  at  best.  Near  the  water  the 
beach  was  strewn  with  shells,  especially  of  the  razor-billed  clam  as 
it  is  often  called,  and  a  variety  of  sea  animals,  while  huge  drifts  of  sea- 
weed, like  that  so  common  in  many  places  on  the  coast  here  and 
on  the  Atlantic  generally,  were  entangled  with  blocks  of  ice  and  lay 
around  from  nearly  one  end  of  the  beach  to  the  other.  That  night 
we  spent  at  Blanc  Sablon,  having  travelled  a  distance  of  twenty-five 
miles,  nearer  thirty  by  the  route  we  took,  since  leaving  home  in  the 
morning ;  accomplishing  the  whole,  including  stops  and  all,  in  a 
little  less  than  ten  hours.  The  distance  would  have  been  gone  over 
in  much  less  time  had  the  dogs  been  properly  shod ;  but,  as 
it  was,  the  ice  cut  their  feet  so  badly  that  blood  flowed  in  nearly 
each  print  in  the  snow  or  on  the  ice,  while  the  poor  animals  were 
quite  stiff  and  lame  the  next  morning. 

Of  Blanc  Sablon  I  shall  say  very  little,  as  I  had  so  little  time  here 
to  visit  the  place.  On  all  sides  of  the  harbor  the  country  was  one 
mass  of  stratified  deposit  of  sandstone,  as  is  the  whole  plateau,  as 
I  have  before  called  it,  between  this  place  and  Forteau.  On  the 
western  side  of  the  harbor  the  deposit  is  much  broken,  numerous 
hill-like  elevations  and  broken  ridges  cover  the  surface  everywhere 
on  the  tops  of  which  a  scattered  vegetation  flourishes ;  on  the  east- 
ern side  the  deposit  forms  a  ridge  that  extends  for  some  distance  in 
a  north  and  northeasterly  direction.  For  a  mile  or  so  in  a  north- 
erly direction  the  water,  retreating,  has  left  the  hollow  occupied 
formerly  by  the  sea  so  perfect  that  but  little  imagination  is  required 
to  trace  the  former  outline  of  the  harbor.  With  the  place  itself 
I  was  much  pleased.  It  is  a  busy  looking  station,  and  from  its 
geographical  position,  large  size,  and  importance  as  a  fishing  locality, 
it  is  often  called  the  Boston  of  Labrador,     It  contains  perhaps  a 


BLANC  SABLON  AND  VICINITY.  205 


hundred  buildings  on  both  sides  the  harbor  and  the  adjoining 
islands,  of  which  I  shall  speak  presently,  and  some  three  hundred 
inhabitants,  increased  to  twice  that  number  in  the  summer  and  fish- 
ing season.  The  "large  room,"  as  it  is  called,  contains  an  abundance 
of  articles  for  sale  or  trade  in  exchange  for  furs,  fish,  and  other 
articles  used  as  a  fair  medium  of  exchange,  at  their  current  price 
either  in  trade  or  cash.  The  stock  is  owned  by  merchants  from  the 
isle  of  Jersey  in  the  English  channel  —  whence  a  great  number  of 
people  come  who  live  on  this  coast  —  and  now  in  charge  of  a  smart, 
gentlemanly  clerk  already  some  eight  years  in  the  companies'  em- 
ployment though  still  in  his  teens.  The  fishery  connected  with 
this  same  firm,  employing  some  ten  men  in  winter,  and  eighty  in 
summer,  is  perhaps  the  largest  in  the  place,  and  no  wonder  this 
young  fellow  clerk  who  oversees  the  whole  is  called  the  young 
master,  while  he  still  holds  his  position  and  retains  the  confidence 
of  his  employers  as  well  as  his  employes.  The  two  important  islands, 
just  outside  the  harbor,  are  Wood  (Vile  au  Bois  as  it  is  usually 
called)  and  Greenley  Islands.  The  former  contains  several  fishing 
establishments,  and  another  shop  where  various  articles  are  bought 
and  sold,  and  is  the  larger  of  the  two  being  about  two  miles  long,  of 
triangular  shape,  with  the  apex  pointing  northwest,  and  a  base  about 
a  mile  wide  facing  southeast ;  the  latter  the  light  island,  where  the 
lighthouse  is  situated,  one  of  the  only  two  upon  the  coast  from 
Point  des  Monts  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  eastward.  It  lies  west 
and  a  very  little  south  of  Wood  island,  and  is  scarcely  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  either  long  or  wide.  To  give  a  little,  perhaps  rather  dry 
detail,  I  find  the  light  described  in  the  report  of  the  Canadian 
government,  somewhat  as  follows  :  ''light  upon  the  S.  W.  part  of  the 
island,  latitude,  51°  22'  35",  longitude  (west  of  Greenwich),  57° 
10'  50".  Single  light,  revolving  white  for  -],  then  red  -j,  then  white 
again  ^,  blank  i^  minutes  (three  minutes  for  full  revolution).  The 
tower  octagonal,  wooden  with  dwelling  attached,  100  feet  high,  the 
light  visible  fifteen  miles.  It  is  an  established  light  of  the  second 
order,  and  a  fog  gun  is  fired  every  half  hour." 

Taking  a  good  rest  at  the  house  of  the  friendly  people  with  whom 


206  '  HOW  THE  INHABITANTS  LIVE. 

we  had  taken  up  our  quarters  for  the  night,  we  gave  ourselves  to 
the  enjoyment  of  the  clear,  cool,  evening  air,  and  soon  after  supper 
retired  to  sleep.  The  people  in  many  places  along  the  coast  where 
I  have  visited,  at  least  the  men,  have  a  habit  of  closing  their  day's 
work  in  winter  with  their  supper.  At  that  time  all  the  work  of  the 
day  is  supposed  to  be  over,  and  after  the  meal  the  principal  occu- 
pation is  visiting  one's  neighbors  and  either  there  or  at  home  spend- 
ing the  evening  in  chatting,  and  smoking  very  poor  and  bad 
smelling  tobacco,  which,  however,  seems  to  be  the  best  the  coast 
affords.  What  would  at  home  be  thrown  away  as  worthless  is  here 
sold  in  large  quantities  for  a  high  price.  I  mention  this  fact  to 
show  the  imposition  often  practised  upon  these  people  who  are  un- 
able to  help  themselves,  and  who  must  either  put  up  with  it  or  go 
without ;  strange  to  say,  most  prefer  to  put  up  with  the  bad  article, 
and  hundreds  of  hundred-weight  boxes  of  bad  tobacco  are  used 
each  season.  Nearly  all  of  the  men  on  the  coast  smoke,  and  it  is 
very  rare  to  find  a  man,  old  or  young,  to  whom  the  pipe  is  a  stranger, 
or  who  does  not  use  tobacco  in  one  form  or  another.  Even  the 
young  boys  smoke  as  soon  as  they  can  secure  the  necessary  articles. 
It  seems  to  be  a  matter  of  pride  with  them  here  as  elsewhere,  and 
the  fellow  who  can  begin  the  earliest  and  smoke  the  most  tobacco 
is  the  best  fellow,  and  takes  the  lead  among  his  comrades  and 
companions. 

The  houses  here  are  much  like  the  houses  elsewhere,  a  huge 
kitchen  and  sitting-room  with  a  small  bedroom  on  the  ground  story, 
and  a  loft  with  two  rooms  reached  by  a  ladder  leading  to  a  small 
aperture  about  two  feet  wide  in  the  floor  above.  The  bed  or  bunk 
is  roughly  made,  and  more  often  the  mattress  simply  lies  on  the  floor. 
The  people  with  hardly  an  exception  are  fishermen,  and  the  best 
off  are  poor  compared  to  what  they  might  be  should  a  spirit  of 
economy  and  industry  take  possession  of  them  and  drive  away  the 
spirit  of  procrastination.  The  occupation  during  the  day  is  chiefly 
that  of  mending  and  netting  nets  and  seines,  or  laying  plans  for 
and  chatting  with  neighbors  on  the  next  season's  work  among  the 
fisheries.     The  fishing  season  is  usually  from  the  first  of  May,  the 


EASTWARD  OF  BLANC  SABLON.  207 

opening  of  spring,  until  the  first  of  September,  the  beginning  of 
cold  weather,  but  during  these  four  months  all  is  stir  and  excitement 
both  day  and  night.  Men  in  boats  are  out  fishing  all  the  time,  and 
every  device  thought  of  is  put  into  operation  for  the  securing  of  a 
good  "  catch,"  as  the  work  of  the  season  is  called.  Labor  is  cheap, 
and  none  but  lazy  persons  fail  to  enter  into  the  full  excitement  of 
the  occasion ;  these  well  deserve  the  poverty  brought  upon  them 
by  their  own  idleness  and  want  of  exertion.  I  have  known  whole 
families  to  exist  on  the  charity  of  their  neighbors  with  perhaps  only 
a  single  or  at  most  two  barrels,  one  of  flour  and  the  other  of  meal, 
during  the  long  six  months  of  winter ;  but  the  idle  always  have 
their  own  reward,  at  least  on  this  coast  where  no  one  is  rich  enough 
to  supply  such  persons  at  their  own  expense,  even  if  they  were  so 
disposed. 

Early  the  next  morning  we  tackled  our  still  lame  and  tired  dogs 
and  proceeded  on  our  journey.  The  dogs  went  badly  at  first  but 
they  bravely  overcame  the  tendency  to  weakness,  caused  by  their 
lame  feet,  and  soon  trotted  along  at  so  brisk  a  pace  that,  but  for 
the  occasional  drops  of  blood  left  in  their  tracks  from  wounds 
made  by  the  sharp  ice  cutting  their  feet,  one  would  scarcely  notice 
their  tendency  to  fatigue.  We  soon  climbed  the  steep,  high  hill 
directly  back  of  the  houses  and  the  ridge  or  rather  long,  low  gran- 
ite mound  —  if  one  may  so  call  it  —  and  found  ourselves  on  an 
uneven  plateau  of  sandstone,  the  upper  surface  of  which  looked 
much  like  that  of  the  Bradore  granite ;  but  while  the  vegetation 
on  the  Bradore  Hills  was  scant  and  poor,  here  dwarf  spruce  and 
fir  trees  showed  occasional  green  tops  and  branches  from  beneath 
the  snow ;  while  broken  and  cut  sticks,  appearing  in  all  directions, 
showed  where  the  ground,  once  completely  covered  with  these  trees, 
had  been  cleared  for  fuel,  and  left  to  again  grow  over,  probably 
for  the  same  ultimate  use.  I  could  not  but  reflect  that  I  was  riding 
over  a  mass  of  stratified  sandstone,  extending  miles  in  three  di- 
rections with  the  sea  at  the  south,  and  once  a  part  of  the  ocean, 
which  receded  either  by  elevation  of  the  land,  by  sinking  of  the  sea 
basin,  or  a  combination  of  both.     With  about  the  same  slope  that 


208  L'ANSE  AU  CLAIRE. 


we  ascend  from  Blanc  Sablon  to  this  plateau,  we  descended  to  the 
bay  on  the  opposite  side  from  an  elevation  of  about  four  hundred 
and  thirty  feet,  and,  as  I  later  observed,  the  slope  was  nearly  the 
same  on  the  southern  side  also,  though  the  distance  passed  over 
here  was  only  about  three  miles. 

The  ride  was  so  full  of  interest  that  I  scarcely  realized  when  a 
view  of  the  little  inlet  of  St.  Claire  or  L'Anse  au  Claire  Bay  came 
upon  us  quite  unexpectedly,  and  the  ride  down  the  hill  and  along 
the  western  bank  of  the  bay  afforded  a  fine  view  of  the  surrounding 
beauties  of  nature.  Here  we  took  dinner  with  a  most  excellent 
family,  and  the  pleasant  conversation  of  both  host  and  hostess,  who 
were  great  friends  with  my  guide,  proved  most  interesting.  The 
gentleman  who  had  for  a  long  time  resided  here  as  a  fisherman  — 
and  certainly  a  very  intelligent  one  —  gave  me  much  useful  inform- 
ation about  the  country,  and  stated  the  fact  that  he  had,  from 
personal  examination,  found  that  this  same  sandstone  formation 
continued  beneath  the  sea,  as  he  found  from  soundings  while  fishing 
for  cod,  and  appeared  again  on  the  Newfoundland  shore,  which  is 
here  about  fourteen  miles  across  its  nearest  point.  I  saw  here,  also, 
that  this  litde  bay  partook  of  the  same  general  character  of  so  many 
other  bays  along  the  coast  here,  and  distincdy  showed  the  former 
extension  of  the  sea  in  its  basin  beyond,  while  the  limestone  cliffs 
and  hillocks  appeared  in  all  directions,  to  the  right,  to  the  left,  and 
directly  ahead.  After  our  dinner  and  a  little  time  allowed  for  rest- 
ing ourselves  we  continued  our  journey  in  a  cool,  bracing  air,  across 
the  bay.  We  ascended  the  opposite  ridge,  a  continuation  of  what 
we  had  just  passed  over,  and  with  a  similar  height  above  the  sea, 
only  perhaps  with  a  rather  more  even  surface,  and  crossing  several 
large  ponds,  continued  our  way  over  these  hills  in  a  triangular 
direction  to  the  height  above  Forteau  Bay,  a  distance  of  five  miles, 
passing  through  a  slight  snow  fog,  a  peculiarity  of  this  district  per- 
haps (though  I  am  assured  of  rare  occurrence  in  the  month  of 
March),  which,  barely  lifting,  gave  us  a  hazy  view  of  what  was 
around.  We  now  descended,  in  a  tremendous  hurry,  the  famous 
steep  Forteau  hill,  that  is  situated  here,  to  the  bay ;  the  dogs  could 


FORTEAU  BAY.  209 


not  keep  up  to  the  sled  in  spite  of  double  drags,  or  huge  rings  of 
thick  rope,  thrown  over  the  runners,  fall  between  them  and  the 
snow  and  form  a  powerful  resistance  to  the  forward  motion  of  the 
sled, — yet  we  reached  the  bottom  in  safety. 

As  this  is  another  of  the  important  indentations  of  the  coast,  it 
may  be  well  to  give  simply  an  outline  of  the  principal  points  of  inter- 
est connected  with  it.  If  then  we  measure  the  distance  between  Point 
Forteau  on  the  western  and  L'Anse  Amour  on  the  eastern  extremity 
of  the  bay,  we  shall  find  a  straight  line  between  these  two  places  to 
run  in  a  northeast  by  easterly  direction  for  a  distance  of  nearly  four 
miles.  The  outline  of  the  bay  itself  is  triangular ;  the  apex  from 
the  centre  of  the  mouth  of  the  bay  lies  inland  in  an  almost  ex- 
act northwesterly  direction.  The  western  side  of  the  bay  is  nearly 
straight,  while  the  eastern  represents  the  figure  5  with  the  dash  at 
the  top  off,  and  the  curve  at  the  bottom  of  the  bulge  not  quite 
reaching  a  point  exactly  below  the  straight  line  above  as  it  neces- 
sarily does  in  a  well  made  figure  of  that  character.  Of  course 
there  are  many  little  irregularities  of  coast-line,  but  the  general 
form  is  quite  as  I  have  described  it.  At  the  extremity  of  Amour 
Point  stands  Amour  lighthouse,  the  other  of  the  two  lights  on 
the  coast,  and  which  will  soon  be  described.  Strange  as  it  may 
be,  Forteau  Bay  basin  shows  still  another  of  those  plainly  marked, 
former  extensions  of  the  sea  to  some  inland  point ;  and,  as  this 
peculiar  sandstone  formation  ends  at  the  beginning  of  the  bulge, 
on  the  eastern  side,  the  whole  forms  an  even  plateau  from  Blanc 
Sablon  to  this  point.  A  formation  of  more  or  less  stratified  lime- 
stone then  begins,  whose  eastern  terminus  I  have  not  yet  ascertained, 
though  it  is  said  to  extend  under  the  sea  and  appear  again  like 
the  sandstone  at  L'Anse  Claire,  on  the  opposite  Newfoundland  shore. 
The  whole  thus  presents  an  interesting  field  for  future  investigators, 
as  it  forms  an  additional  link  in  the  chain  of  points  of  interest, 
whose  combination  forms  a  culmination  of  great  geological  import- 
ance in  reading  the  former  history  of  the  region.  It  was  quite 
fortunate  that  at  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  were  so 
near  our  journey's  end,  for  it  would  have  been  an  easy  matter 
14 


210  L'ANSE  AMOUR. 


to  have  tracked  us  across  the  bay  (  Forteau  Bay  I  mean )  on 
the  ice  by  the  blood  alone  from  the  dogs'  feet.  We  had  six  dogs  in 
our  team,  three  full  grown  and  three  young  ones.  As  there  were  not 
enough  shoes  for  all  of  them  even  when  we  started,  and  as  we  had 
not  been  able  to  procure  a  sealskin  or  any  canvas  to  make  others 
to  replace  those  already  worn  out,  by  this  time  most  of  the  dogs 
had  one  or  two  shoes  only,  while  one  had  none.  We  had  driven 
him  without  any  all  this  distance,  nearly  twenty  miles,  because  hav- 
ing a  full  set  of  four  nice  shoes,  he  had  turned  to  and  pulled  them 
off  with  his  teeth  and  eaten  them  up  at  our  last  stopping  place,  and 
his  punishment  was  tying  his  mouth  up  tightly  and  driving  him  as  I 
have  said.  This  fellow  bled  from  all  his  feet,  and  nearly  all  the  others 
showed  drops  of  blood  in  each  footprint ;  but  there  was  no  help  for 
it,  and  so  we  kept  on  as  well  as  possible  until  our  destination  was 
reached. 

Forteau  Bay  is  the  first  bay  of  any  importance  on  the  Labrador 
peninsula,  and  though  the  principal  port  on  this  part  of  the  coast 
is  Red  Bay,  twenty-two  or  twenty-three  miles  farther  east,  the 
former  is  not  without  its  objects  of  general  interest.  Each  side 
of  the  bay  is  hned  with  buildings,  —  houses,  shops,  and  fishing 
store-houses  —  to  the  number  of  some  twenty  or  thirty.  On  the 
eastern  side  of  the  bay  a  neat  little  church,  well  built  and  painted 
white,  rears  a  small  but  homely  looking,  short,  square  steeple  with  a 
small  spire  upon  it  against  the  dark  background  of  the  ridge 
beyond  ;  by  its  side  stands  a  tastily  built  parsonage,  silently  awaiting 
occupancy  by  some  quiet  and  practical  Christian  people  whose 
"charity  shall  begin  at"  this  their  village  "home,"  and  end  there  also, 
which,  wisely  administered,  "shall  cover"  for  the  people  "a  multitude 
of  sins."  And  truly  the  people  here  need  such  a  family,  for  they 
are  sadly  deficient  in  intellectual  ideas,  neighborly  charity  in  little 
things,  and  personal  virtues,  though  there  are  many  exceptionally 
fine  families  among  these  plain,  rough,  good-hearted  people. 

It  was  just  about  dusk  when  we  reached  our  destination  on  the 
extremity  of  L'Anse  Amour,  and  being  Saturday  night  we  looked 
for  a  quiet   rest  on   the  following  Sunday,  both  for  ourselves   and 


A  SUNDAY  OF  REST.  211 


owv  sore-footed  dogs.  It  was  a  nice  old-fashioned  couple  that  met 
us  here,  and,  sending  the  boys  to  take  care  of  our  team  and  the 
articles  upon  it,  they  invited  us  into  the  house,  where,  after  cordial 
greetings  (  for  the  guide  was  well  acquainted  here  )  they  placed 
before  us,  for  refreshment,  cups  of  hot  tea  and  buttered  graham 
bread — the  first  I  had  seen  on  the  coast.  The  large  house,  with  its 
low  studded  ceiling  and  ample  apartments,  presented  a  cosey  and 
homelike  appearance.  The  kitchen  served  as  a  dining-room  and 
place  of  general  assembly,  and  there  we  all  met  together,  —  those 
who  smoked  did  so,  and  those  of  us  who  did  not  made  ourselves 
comfortable  and  looked  on,  while  we  all  chatted  pleasantly  together 
until  supper  time ;  this  over,  we  spent  the  evening  in  chatting 
pleasantly  and  familiarly  with  our  host  and  hostess. 

Sunday,  March  6.  Two  pleasures  fill  me  to-day,  the  oue  that 
I  am  here  in  a  new  place  with  the  beauty  and  freshness  of  new 
scenes  before  me,  the  open  bay  in  front,  the  sea  with  a  distant 
view  of  the  Newfoundland  coast  at  the  left,  and  a  huge  bank  of 
limestone  containing  unknown  treasures  in  the  shape  of  new  and 
rare  fossils  behind  the  house  and  not  a  hundred  rods  away  :  the 
other  the  prospect  of  a  good,  quiet,  homehke  Sunday  with 
pleasant  people  who  greet  me  most  cordially,  upon  my  appear- 
ing at  the  breakfast  table.  The  simple  but  rehshable  meal 
over,  the  morning  was  spent  in  talking,  walking,  and  in  reading. 
The  dinner  disposed  of —  an  equally  satisfactory  repast  —  all  hands 
were  invited  to  take  a  walk  to  the  limestone  cliff  and  see  its  attrac- 
tions. This  we  did,  and  were  soon  examining  this  mound  ridge 
of  sea-deposit  which  appears  to  stretch  a  long  distance  in  a  north- 
westerly direction,  though  just  how  far  I  could  not  tell.  The  edges 
of  the  cliffs,  here  some  seventy-five  feet  high,  were  exposed,  and 
presented  a  most  uneven,  and  irregular  jagged  surface,  facing  the 
sea ;  below,  the  broken  pieces  that  had  tumbled  down  by  weather, 
wind,  frosts,  rain,  and  their  own  weight,  strewed  the  ground  every- 
where in  a  sloping  pile  of  fine  chips  —  like  slate  rock  —  and  stones 
of  various  sizes  with  occasional  huge  bowlder-like  lumps  of  solid 
rock.     I  picked  up  several  well  formed  fossils,   and  accepted  our 


212  POINT  AMOUR. 


host's  kind  invitation  to  spend  a  week  or  more  with  him  in  the 
spring,  when  the  snow  and  ice  should  have  disappeared,  in  examin- 
ing the  place  with  reference  to  its  geology  and  for  specimens. 

A  rough  climb  brought  us  to  the  top  of  the  ridge,  and  gave  us  a 
fine  view  of  the  surrounding  sea  and  country.  We  had  been 
followed  by  eight  or  ten  of  our  dogs,  and  it  was  an  amusing  sight 
to  watch  their  efforts  to  follow  us  in  our  climb,  and  their  repeated 
tumbles  and  consequent  slides  down  the  icy  slope  some  fifty  feet  to 
the  bottom  of  the  descent.  At  length  we  are  all  safely  landed,  and 
a  brisk  walk  in  the  strong  wind  and  rather  cold,  bracing  air  brought 
us  to  the  road.  On  our  right  was  the  lighthouse,  but  we  did  not 
visit  it.  It  is  situated  on  the  extremity  of  the  point,  and  we  learn 
from  the  reports  that  it  is  in  latitude  51°  27'  35",  longitude  56° 
50'  55".  It  is  a  circular  lighthouse,  height  155  feet,  built  in 
1855.  The  light  is  of  the  second  order,  and  visible  eighteen  miles  ; 
it  is  fixed  and  white.  A  whistle  sounds  every  ten  seconds  in 
foggy  weather.  This  and  the  light  on  Greenley  Island  are  the  only 
two  lights  on  the  coast ;  no  doubt  another  will  soon  be  built,  perhaps 
near  the  rocks  upon  which  the  Edward  Cardwell  was  so  lately 
wrecked.  There  at  least  'ought  to  be  one  near  that  point  of  the 
coast,  though  Beacon  or  Old  Fort  Island  would  seem  to  be  the 
best  place  for  it.  Our  walk  home  was  soon  accomplished ;  the  after- 
noon and  evening  passed  away  quietly, —  a  sermon  read  by  one  of 
our  number  occupied  the  latter  part  of  the  evening,  and  we  all  re- 
tired to  rest  early. 

Monday  morning  we  left  these  kind-hearted  people,  with  many 
expressions  of  cordiality  on  both  sides,  and  were  soon  travelling 
towards  home  again,  as  this  was  the  end  of  our  journey.  It  was  a 
bright  and  clear,  cool  morning,  and  the  dogs  spun  merrily  along,  well 
shod  and  apparently  quite  over  their  lameness  and  sore  feet.  We  re- 
turned by  the  same  road  as  that  by  which  we  had  come,  as  far  as 
L'Anse  Claire,  and  then,  veering  to  the  left,  followed  the  coast  to 
the  strangely  located  abode  of  another  hospitable  and  well  known 
family,  at  the  foot  of  the  central  point  of  the  sandstone  chff  here 
situated  midway  between  L'Anse  Claire  and  Blanc  Sablon ;  this  is 


RETURNING  HOME. 


213 


called  L'Anse  Coteau,  and  occupies  a  little  niche  in  the  coast  just 
east  of  the  extreme  eastern  end  of  Wood  Island,  which  is  seen  just 
beyond  the  point.  The  ride  around  this  cliff  presented  somewhat 
the  appearance  of  our  walk  around  the  limestone  of  L'Anse  Amour. 
The  sandstone,  everywhere  broken,  showed  us  plainly  the  layers  or 
strata,  and  its  various  colors  of  brown,  red,  and  gray.  We  stayed 
here  over  night  and  continued  our  journey  the  next  day.  Returning 
by  Bradore  bay,  which  was  now  quite  frozen  over  and  safe  to  travel 
upon,  I  could  now  see  the  appearance  of  the  granite  at  this  point. 
Several  huge  and  irregular  dikes,  apparently  of  trap,  marked  the 
surface  of  some  of  the  rocks.  Most  striking  irregularities  of  break- 
age, in  some  cases  amounting  almost  to  cleavage,  appeared  in  the 
cliffs  and  in  the  pieces  broken  off  and  tumbled  to  its  foot.  Some 
of  the  bowlders  were  cleft  by  frost  and  weather,  while  everywhere 
evidence  of  most  interesting  structure  prevailed ;  but  I  had  too 
little  time  to  spend  here,  so  continued  my  homeward  journey.  The 
rest  of  the  return  trip  was  pleasant  and  delightful ;  the  air  cool  yet 
comfortable,  with  a  clear  sky.  The  dogs,  though  weary,  seemed  to 
know  that  they  were  going  home  and  trotted  along  quite  rapidly. 
Soon  darkness  began  to  close  in  upon- us,  and  in  a  short  time 
hearty  home  welcomes  and  a  nice  hot  supper  were  the  entertain- 
ments of  the  evening.  "  Early  to  bed  and  early  to  rise,"  says  the 
old  proverb ;  we  tried  the  former  part  of  the  saying  and  soon 
drowned  our  cares  in  peaceful  slumber. 


KVYy) 


214  CANADIAN   PORCUPINE. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Canadian  porcupine  —  Picking  fall  berries  in  spring  —  Carrying  wood  to 
summer  quarters  —  Anticipating  Fourth  of  July  —  Summer  quarters  in 
winter  —  Capsized  —  Fox  hunt  on  rackets  —  A  mile  of  soft  snow  without 
rackets. 


Thursday,  March  lo,  I  spent  the  day  in  skinning  and  stuffing 
a  porcupine,  that  was  brought  in  to  me  by  one  of  the  neighbors, 
and  a  most  difficult  task  I  found  it.  The  Canadian  porcupine 
{Erethizon  dorsatiim)  is  quite  common  all  along  the  coast,  and 
in  the  interior  of  Labrador.  It  is  an  animal  more  or  less  peculiar 
to  this  region,  and  is  generally  found  in  winter  by  following,  on  the 
newly  fallen  snow,  the  impressions  of  its  feet  which  look  much  like 
the  imprints  of  a  small  child's  foot.  It  is  found  more  frequently 
in  winter  than  in  summer,  when  it  comes  out  from  its  hiding  places, 
which  are  in  caves,  under  rocks,  and  often  in  the  hollows  of  trees, 
and  travels  about  for  food.  It  lives  on  berries  and  the  bark  of 
trees,  gnawing  them  in  such  a  manner  that  the  hunter  knows  at 
once  when  one  of  these  animals  is  about,  after  having  found  its 
cuttings.  The  animal  returns  to  the  same  place  each  day  to  feed 
until  its  supply  ceases,  when  it  seeks  a  new  place.  Though  naturally 
a  sluggish  aiiimal,  the  porcupine,  when  pursued,  takes  at  once  to 
the  tree-tops  and  is  then  very  spry  and  agile.  When  caught  upon 
the  ground  it  immediately  rolls  itself  together  into  a  sort  of  ball, 
and  with  spines  erected  meets  the  intruder.  Only  the  belly,  and 
extremities  of  the  animal  are  destitute  of  these  spines  so  that  it  can 
be  safely  attacked  only  on  these  parts.  The  Indians  kill  it  with 
a  blow  from  some  stick  which  they  carry  for  the  purpose,  or,  if 


TRIP  TO  OUR  SUMMER  HOUSE.  215 

it  ascends  a  tree,  they  cut  the  tree  down  and  then  soon  dispatch 
the  animal.  It  is  a  formidable  object,  when  thus  on  the  defensive, 
for  other  animals  to  attack,  as  to  touch  it  detaches  many  of  the 
spines  which  work  their  way  into  the  flesh  causing  terrible  wounds. 
It  occasionally  utters  a  sort  of  plaintive  cry,  and  this,  with  many  other 
circumstances,  has  won  for  it,  by  the  whites  along  the  coast,  the 
name  of  "  Indian  papoose.  "  The  Indians  regard  its  flesh  very 
highly.  One  can  easily  see  that  it  is  no  small  job  to  skin  one  of 
these  animals,  and  that  the  quills,  liable  to  be  lost,  afterwards 
cause  serious  trouble  should  they  get  into  the  foot  or  hand.  The 
Indians  when  they  wish  to  use  the  quills  for  fancy  work,  as  they 
often  do,  carefully  pick  them  out  and  arrange  them  to  form 
mats,  or  various  ornaments  of  one  kind  or  another;  when  the 
flesh  is  to  be  eaten  they  are  generally  hung  up  over  a  flaming  fire 
and  singed  to  the  skin,  thus  burning  off  all  the  chaff  of  the  quills. 
The  young  are  covered  with  long,  black  silky  hair  with  whitish  ends. 

Friday  the  nth.  This  afternoon  the  snow,  melted  by  the  hot 
sun,  having  partially  disappeared  from  some  of  the  elevations, 
we  picked  a  dish  of  nice,  fresh  berries  for  supper.  Here  the  snow 
covers  the  red  berries  and  keeps  them  in  a  perfectly  fresh  condi- 
tion until  the  ensuing  spring  when  they  are  picked  and  eaten  in 
large  numbers.     They  taste  very  fresh  and  nice. 

Saturday,  March  26.  This  day,  looking  to  be  a  fine  one,  with  wind 
south  and  a  mild  thaw,  seemed  to  invite  a  tramp  ;  so  accordingly, 
as  the  men  were  to  carry  out  a  load  of  wood  to  the  summer  house 
on  the  island  —  only  about  four  miles  distant —  I  determined  to  take 
my  gun  and  follow  them ;  the  report  that  a  large,  white  owl  had 
been  seen  there,  helping  materially  to  decide  me  in  the  matter. 
The  men  started  ofl"  quite  early,  directly  after  breakfast,  for  the 
woods,  with  their  dogs  and  komatiks,  to  get  their  load.  If  the  going 
is  bad,  or  the  dogs  are  obliged  to  wear  their  sealskin  or  canvas,  pocket- 
like shoes,  only  a  light  load  is  put  upon  the  komatik,  but  if  the  ice 
is  smooth,  and  the  going  ^od,  it  is  an  old  saying  that  you  can- 
not ''load  a  komatik ;"  that  is,  the  sled  slips  along  so  easily  when  once 
it  is  started  that  you  can  pile  on  all  the  weight  that  it  will  hold,  and 


216  BAD  TRAVELLING. 

the  dogs  will  draw  it  with  ease.  I  have  known  a  team  of  four  good 
dogs  to  draw  a  load  of  nearly  a  thousand  pounds  of  iron  for  eight 
miles,  and  the  roads  not  in  the  best  of  conditions. 

While  the  men  were  piling  the  sleds  with  wood  —  we  had  two 
teams  —  to  carry  across  to  the  summer  house,  I  put  on  my  warm 
clothing  and  prepared  to  accompany  them  on  foot.  It  was  a  clear, 
beautiful  morning,  and  after  walking  some  little  distance  the  bracing 
air  seemed  to  give  me  renewed  spirits  ;  but  soon  a  misfortune  quite 
dampened  them  again,  and  rendered  me  unfit  both  in  body  and 
mind  to  enjoy  fully  the  sport  of  the  day,  or  rather  the  sport  that 
might  have  been  during  the  day.  This  was  the  loosening  of  the 
stopper  of  my  powder  flask,  so  that  before  I  could  stop  it,  the  horn 
had  swung  behind  me,  mouth  downward,  and  the  povvder,  to  the 
amount  of  about  half  a  pound,  was  instantly  a  long,  black,  snake-' 
like  train  on  the  snow  beneath.  Strange  to  say,  my  first  impulse 
was  (thinking  that  the  snow  would  soon  wet  it,  and  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  collect  any  again)  to  utilize  the  waste  ;  so  imagining  that 
it  was  Fourth  of  July,  or  Washington's  birthday,  I  cannot  remember 
which,  I  hastily  drew  a  match  and  touched  the  train.  With  a  whiz 
it  exploded  and  a  long  burnt  track  alone  remained  to  tell  the  story. 
I  had  then  time  to  think  that  but  a  single  load  remained  in  my  gun ; 
and  that  the  sleds  were  fast  overtaking  me. 

It  was  very  nearly  as  far  home  as  forward  to  the  island,  and  the 
thought  that  a  single  load  will  often  do  the  work  of  a  dozen 
impelled  me  forward  rather  than  backward.  By  this  time  the  sleds 
had  arrived,  and  together  we  went  forward  at  a  medium  pace,  a 
fast  walk,  over  the  not  very  good  ice  toward  the  island.  When  I 
say  not  very  good  ice,  I  mean  bad  for  the  dogs'  feet  and  the  easy 
running  of  the  komatik,  yet  not  thin.  We  did  not  come  to  thin  ice 
until  the  point  of  the  island  opposite  us  was  reached,  and  here  we 
came  upon  a  narrow  platform  of  thin  ice,  with  the  water  close  to 
us  on  each  side,  over  which  we  must  pass.  The  water  rippled  up 
to  its  edge  in  a  treacherous  manner,  and  the  surface  looked  dark, 
thin  and  wet.  Thinking  that  we  could  clear  it,  with  a  shout  the 
driver  urged  forward  his  dogs,  and  with  a  rush  we  made  for  the 


^  SUMMER  QUARTERS  IN  WINTER.  217 

opposite  side,  but  crack,  crack,  crack ;  the  dogs  stood  still  and 
looked  to  see  what  was  the  matter,  only  for  a  moment,  but  that 
moment  was  enough ;  the  ice  gave  way  and  the  komatik  and 
its  load  of  wood,  on  top  of  which  were  several  jackets,  and  my 
powder  horn  and  gun,  slowly  sank  into  the  water.  To  spring  from 
cake  to  cake  to  the  firm  ice,  and  to  reach  down  and  seize  the  above 
mentioned  articles  as  they  were  slowly  disappearing,  and  before 
they  had  reached  the  water,  was  the  work  of  a  moment ;  but  the 
precious  articles  were  saved. 

Then  came  the  work  of  picking  out  the  sticks  and  reloading  the 
sled.  Fortunately  wood  floats,  and  the  sled  had  not  been  broken  or 
otherwise  damaged  (they  are  made  very  stout),  and  soon  we  were 
again  on  the  move.  Luckily,  nothing  was  lost,  while  both  myself  and 
friend,  the  driver,  escaped  most  miraculously,  not  having  even  wet 
our  feet.  Arriving  at  our  stopping  place,  w^e  left  the  wood  at  its 
destination,  and  went  up  to  the  house. 

How  changed  the  place  looked  from  what  I  had  seen  it  in  the  sum- 
mer !  It  was  then  fertile  and  flowering ;  it  was  now  snow,  snow,  snow 
everywhere.  I  took  my  gun,  with  its  only  charge,  put  in  on  leav- 
ing home  very  luckily,  and  started  for  the  hillock  on  which  the  white 
owl  had  last  been  seen ;  but,  alas  !  he  was  not  there.  I  climbed  to  the 
top  of  the  crest,  but  could  see  nothing ;  on  the  crest  beyond,  still 
nothing  of  the  owl ;  but  on  the  third  crest  I  espied  a  fox  trotting 
off  at  a  slow  gait  up  the  ridge  before  me,  not  two  hundred  yards 
away.  With  my  telescope,  I  could  see  that  it  was  a  red  fox,  and 
that  he  held  up  his  left  front  foot,  using  only  three  feet  to  walk  upon, 

i  as  if  lame  from  being  caught  in  some  trap  or  otherwise,  so  I  deter- 

mined to  chase  him  ;  no  quicker  said  than  done.  The  fox  was  about 
three  hundred  yards  away  from  me  when  the  chase  began.     I  saw 

t  him  through    the  glass    for  a    moment  as    he  trotted  along   the 

snow  ahead  of  me,  and  then  taking  up  my  gun,  started  after  him ; 
he  was  just  behind  the  ridge,  and  I  had  hoped  to  gain  upon  him, 
but  a  fox  is  a  cute  animal  if  he  has  but  three  legs  to  run  on,  and 
by  the  time  I  had  gained  the  ridge,  he  had  heard  me  coming  and 
was  now  far  to  the  right  and  still  out  of  gunshot.  On  I  pressed, 
14* 


218  A  TRICKY  FOX. 


occasionally  losing  sight  of  the  game  altogether  and  now  having 
the  stimulus  of  seeing  him  before  me,  either  tracking  the  snow  with 
blood  from  the  wounded  foot,  or  slowly  climbing  the  hillock  in 
front.  Sometimes  he  would  make  a  turn  to  the  right,  expecting  to 
throw  me  off  the  scent,  and  often  to  the  left  for  the  same  purpose  ; 
but  the  island  was  small,  and  the  ridges  so  far  distant,  compar- 
atively, that  it  was  impossible,  now  at  least,  for  him  to  gain  his 
object.  On  we  went  over  hill  and  dell,  sometimes  one  gaining  and 
sometimes  the  other.  At  last  the  end  of  the  island  was  reached, 
and  the  fox  was  running  across  a  narrow  pass,  covered  with  ice, 
between  this  and  another  island  ;  I  had  gained  on  him  and  he  was 
now  less  than  two  hundred  yards  away,  so  I  determined  to  fire. 
Hastily  kneeling  behind  the  crest  of  a  hillock,  and  resting  on  a 
stone  there,  I  fired ;  the  ball  reached  the  fox  but  did  not  hit  him ; 
and,  though  I  had  already  run  several  miles  across  the  island,  and 
had  shot  away  my  only  charge,  I  started  in  pursuit  again,  across 
the  pass  and  away  over  the  next  small  island.  Here  comes  the 
strange  part  of  the  chase  ;  the  footing  led  plainly  across  the  snow 
for  a  short  distance,  and  then,  mingling  with  another  recent  one, 
diverged  ;  but  which  was  which  I  could  not  tell. 

The  island  was  hilly  though  small ;  upon  gaining  the  summit  of  the 
crest  the  fox  had  disappeared.  Following  the  slope  downward  to- 
wards a  small  point  of  land  to  the  westward,  I  soon  came  across 
the  bloody  track  of  the  fox  again ;  it  disappeared  when  I  reached 
the  front,  then  appeared  again  along  the  edge  of  the  rocks  quite 
near  the  ice  of  the  bay  and  below  the  rocks.  This  was  a  cute 
trick  to  escape  detection,  but  the  next  step  was  more  so.  The 
tracks  disappeared  all  of  a  sudden  in  the  centre  of  a  patch  of  snow 
with  moss  around  it,  and  not  a  trace  of  them  could  be  found 
anywhere.  I  carefully  searched  the  narrow  point  over,  and  looked 
behind  each  rock,  ascended  each  crest,  examined  each  old  fox 
footing,  partially  filled  with  drifting  snow,  so  that  I  could  not  have 
mistaken  it,  and  not  a  sign  appeared.  The  fine  fellow  had  played 
me  another  of  the  many  tricks  for  which  Sir  Reynard  is  noted,  and 
left  me,  four  miles  from  home,  heated  with  running,    cross  and 


FOX  HUNTING  ON  RACKETS.  219 

hungry.    Vowing  vengeance,  home  I  started,  awaiting  the  next 
pleasant  day  for  another  hunt. 

The  next  day,  though  more  or  less  snowy  and  otherwise  uncom- 
fortable, we  went  out  to  the  island  with  another  load  of  wood.  I 
took  my  gun,  hoping  to  see  some  signs  of  game,  and  started  a  little 
ahead  of  the  loaded  sleds  which  soon  caught  up  to  me,  when  we 
proceeded  along  together.  It  seemed  as  if  we  never  went  so  slowly, 
and  though  the  loads  were  not  large,  the  previous  day's  thaw  ren- 
dered it  treacherous  travelling.  We  plodded  on  cautiously,  beguiling 
the  way  with  conversation  until  within  a  short  distance  of  the  island, 
when  sharp  eyes  detected,  on  the  slope  of  a  low  hillock  (  of  which 
there  were  several),  among  the  stones  and  rocks,  a  small  moving 
object.  A  few  steps  nearer  decided  the  question  of  what  it  was,  and 
no  doubt  remained  in  my  mind  but  that  my  friend  the  fox  was  mak- 
ing another  tour  of  the  island,  perhaps  searching  for  me  for  the  fun 
of  another  chase.  Several  crows,  or  rather  ravens,  hovered  occasion- 
ally over  him,  and  vented  their  spite  in  repeated  dashes  and  dabs  at 
his  head,  wishing,  no  doubt,  that  they  could  enjoy  a  good  meal  from 
his  carcass,  or  refresh  themselves  with  his  eyes  ;  but  no  such  fortune 
for  them  occurred,  and  we  saw  him  slowly  disappear  over  the  ridge, 
trotting  in  the  direction  of  the  komatik  and  ourselves,  whom  he 
evidently  had  not  yet  seen.  Seizing  my  gun,  which  was  lying  on 
top  of  one  of  the  loads,  I  started  on  the  run  to  head  him  off  and 
try  and  get  a  shot. 

It  was  hard  work  running  on  such  snow,  and  I  sank  to  the  knees 
at  nearly  every  step ;  but  passing  over  the  ridge  I  saw  the  fox 
climbing  the  opposite  slope  ahead  of  me.  He  had  turned,  appar- 
ently, and  started  off  in  a  new  direction ;  so  I  started  off  after  him. 
Soon  he  disappeared  over  this  second  ridge,  and  when  half-way  up 
the  bank,  chancing  to  turn  around,  I  saw  a  fox  just  crossing  the 
path  by  which  I  had  come.  For  a  moment,  and  only  a  moment,  I 
hesitated  which  one  to  follow — then,  turning,  I  started  for  the 
nearest  and  one  last  seen.  The  fox  used  only  three  feet  (the  other 
bleeding  from  some  trap  wound)  and  did  not  run  fast ;  yet  I  was 
obliged  to  do  my  best  to  keep  up  with  and  not  lose  sight  ot  him. 
At  last  I  gained  perceptibly.     I  could  see  his  black  tail  and  stern  — 


220  A  WINTER  TRAMP  WITHOUT  RACKETS. 

it  was  probably  a  cross  or  patch  fox  —  and  soon,  making  for  a  huge 
rock  in  the  centre  of  an  ahiiost  level  plain,  I  had  a  chance,  long 
shot.  The  ball  sped  swiftly  along  and  missed ;  but  it  struck  so 
near  as  to  bewilder  the  animal,  who,  for  a  moment,  seemed  unde- 
cided which  way  to  turn,  but  quickly  disappeared  over  the  ridge. 
I  followed  him  until  too  tired  to  run  farther,  and  was  obliged  finally 
to  give  up  the  chase  and  returned  to  my  companions  quite  crest- 
fallen, yet  ready  for  another  trial. 

Sunday,  the  2  7th.  We  are  alone,  the  family  having  gone  to  visit  a 
neighbor  about  eight  miles  away,  and  it  does  seem  a  rehef  to  be 
quiet  —  to  hear  no  noisy  children,  and  no  rough,  coarse  scoldings 
or  threats  of  violence  to  them  in  case  of  disobedience.  The  day 
was  pleasant,  and  we  all  enjoyed  it ;  it  seemed  more  like  Sunday 
than  any  similar  days  we  had  passed,  to  me  at  least,  while  on  this 
part  of  the  coast.     The  evening  came  before  we  really  knew  it. 

Monday  the  28th  was  a  damp,  snowy,  dismal  day  ;  we  all  remained 
in  the  house  and  amused  ourselves  as  best  we  could  in  reading, 
and  writing,  or  netting  nets  and  winding  twine.  Towards  evening 
several  of  the  neighbors,  whom  we  knew  well,  came  in  to  chat  with 
us,  and  thus  this  day  passed  like  many  others. 

Wednesday  the  30th.  To-day  I  took  a»tramp  with  two  or  three 
others,  inland  over  the  ponds :  but  we  carried  no  rackets  and 
found  the  walking  terrible.  In  many  places  we  sank  to  our  arm- 
pits, and  we  were  obliged  to  progress  Indian  fashion,  that  is,  crawl 
on  the  hands  and  knees,  using  a  long,  round  stick,  with  which  to  press 
upon  the  snow  while  extricating  ourselves  from  the  drifts.  It  was  a 
most  tedious  and  difficult  worTc.  We  would  walk  on  the  treacher- 
ous crust  for  a  few  steps,  then  sink  in  with  one  foot  up  to  the  knee, 
recovering  our  position  only  to  fall  in  with  the  other  foot  and  again 
to  sink  nearly  to  the  armpits.  The  stick  then  kept  us  from  sinking 
farther  —  the  snow  often  being  fifteen  feet  deep  beneath  us,  —  and 
we  would  slowly  and  with  difficulty  crawl  out  and  onward.  Thus 
we  soon  were  obliged  to  turn  back,  and  though  having  gone  scarcely 
a  mile  we  were  completely  tired  out  when  we  reached  home.  I 
shot  several  species  of  birds,  however,  which  paid  well  for  all  my 
trouble. 


WORK  AT  SUMMER  QUARTERS.  221 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Preparing  the  summer  house  to  live  in  —  Moving  out — A  spring  rescue  — 
Seals  on  ice  —  Larks  —  A  home  scene  —  Spring  duck  shooting  —  Re- 
pairing the  boats  —  Visit  to  the  Indians — Indian  canoes — Netting  nets 
—  Labrador  mail  —  Natural  scenery  of  Labrador  —  Repairing  canoes  — 
Visit  to  Eskimo  graves  —  Ornithological  notes. 


During  the  early  part  of  April  the  weather  still  continued  cold  and 
disagreeable,  while  it  snowed  more  or  less  the  whole  time.  About 
the  middle  of  the  month  we  could  spend  the  greater  part  of  the 
day  at  the  island  in  refurnishing  our  cabin,  and  soon  had  the  roof 
finished,  the  inside  ceiled,  and  the  partitions  put  in  their  proper 
place,  while  new  flooring  was  laid  down  up  stairs.  While  this  was 
in  progress,  the  boys  cleared  up  around  the  house  outside  as  much 
as  possible  considering  the  amount  of  work  in  progi-ess,  and  a 
couple  of  good,  stout  men  wielded  a  large  saw  which  converted 
several  huge  logs,  from  a  large  pile  of  similar  pieces  a  little  to  one 
side  of  the  house,  into  boards  for  the  use  of  the  carpenters  inside. 
All  hands  worked  hard,  and  one  could  see  the  improvement  from 
day  to  day,  as  affairs  progressed  and  drew  to  completion.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  month  the  sun  got  high  enough  to  allow  us  to  move 
out  again,  and  the  almost  new  house  furnished  very  comfortable 
quarters.  There  is  one  peculiarity  of  the  Labrador  climate  that  I 
must  mention.  There  is,  strictly  speaking,  no  spring  in  Labrador, 
and  though  the  ice  does  not  begin  to  disappear  much  before  the 
end  of  May  —  while  large  masses  often  remain  until  July,  and  ice- 
bergs float  through  the  straits  even  in  August  —  it  goes  very  sud- 
denly when  once  it  really  begins.  In  spite  of  all  these  drawbacks 
there  is  a  certain  mildness  in  the  atmosphere  that  takes  the  place, 


222  MOVING  OUT. 


appS-ently,  of  spring  proper,  and  accordingly  it  thus  becomes  pos- 
sible to  move  out  of  "  winter  quarters,"  and  into  the  summer  house 
in  its  more  exposed  situation,  from  the  middle  to  the  last  of  April ; 
strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  time  set  generally  falls  on  the  week 
after  Easter. 

The  process  of  moving  out  is  much  like  that  of  moving  in, 
though  in  the  latter  case  you  go  by  boat,  and  in  the  former  by  sled ; 
as  the  baggage  consists  principally  of  provisions  and  boxes  there  is 
not  much  to  move.  Of  course  in  this  region  trunks  are  seldom 
used,  being  replaced  by  the  sailor's  chest  or  carpenter's  box  which 
holds  each  individual's  goods.  It  was  a  glad  day  when  we  turned 
our  backs  upon  the  house  we  had  occupied  throughout  the  long, 
tedious  winter,  and  finally  landed,  with  our  "goods  and  chattels," 
at  our  summer  house.  It  was  a  beautiful  morning.  The  air  was 
keen  and  sharp  with  the  freshness  of  the  still  lingering  winter, 
though  the  absence  of  that  intense  cold,  so  usual  at  this  time,  was 
marked  as  quite  a  pleasant  change.  The  sky  was  clear,  and  towards 
noon  the  sun  came  out  warm  and  nice.  The  hills  were  still  more 
or  less  covered  with  snow,  yet  here  and  there  a  suggestion  of  a 
much  greener  foliage  than  could  have  been  seen  a  month  earlier 
even  had  made  its  appearance.  The  greatest  change,  however, 
occurred  in  the  inroads  which  the  waters  of  the  sea,  owing  to  the 
previous  mild  weather,  had  made  upon  the  ice  of  the  bay.  From 
a  point  of  the  mainland  we  could  see  that  half  the  pass  between 
the  two  islands  was  already  open,  and  far  onward  and  outward  we 
could  view  an  open  sea.  I  say  open  sea ;  yet  though  the  ice  had 
broken  up,  leaving  the  water  visible,  there  were  still  large  masses 
of  drift,  or  as  it  is  called  shee-shee  ice  floating  up  or  down  with  the 
current  or  drifting  about  at  the  mercy  of  wind  and  tide,  and  no 
boat  could  yet  be  safe  far  outside.  As  we  stood  viewing  the  waters, 
with  their  distant  long  lines  of  drift  ice,  which  resembled  the 
pictures  often  seen  of  arctic  winter,  we  would  occasionally  see 
short,  round  bodies  upon  it,  that  upon  inspection  proved  to  be 
seals.  We  could  with  our  glass  often  see  these  animals  sporting  in 
the  open  waters  of  some  lagoon-shaped  mass  of  ice,  and  occasion- 


"SKY"  LARKS.  223 


ally  notice  both  old  and  young  seal  together  on  the  blocks.  We 
could  only  look  at  them,  however,  since  the  ice  prevented  us  from 
launching  the  boats,  and  they  were  too  far  off  to  be  reached  by 
either  rifle  or  shotgun.  The  distance  appeared  to  be  about  two 
miles  and  the  inhabitants  considered  it  as  about  such.  When 
tired  of  watching  the  seals,  we  turned  our  glass  to  the  loom  of 
the  Newfoundland  coast  that  appeared  in  the  distance  like  the 
rising  cloud  of  a  heavy  bank  of  autumnal  Newfoundland  fog. 
Then  again,  nearer  home,  the  open  water  in  the  bay  reminded  us 
that  soon  the  ice  would  disappear  and  the  boats  could  be  launched. 
I  was  much  impressed  with  the  beautiful  song  of  the  larks 
(^Eremophila  cornuta) ,  which  everywhere  greeted  us.  Sometimes 
they  would  send  forth  distant  trills  as  they  flew  past  the  island  high 
over  our  heads,  while  at  others  they  would  sing  the  most  beautiful 
carols  as  they  rose  in  spirals  high  into  the  air ;  at  still  other  times 
they  would  hop  about  the  dooryard  free  from  distrust  while  they  fed 
upon  the  scraps  scattered  for  them,  for  which  they  had  chirped  a  few 
notes  of  thankfulness  before  finally  taking  wing.  About  this  time 
flocks  of  snow  buntings  filled  the  air,  and  lit  upon  the  snowy  slopes 
of  the  crests  and  knolls  about  the  island,  hotly  chased  by  the  boys 
who  kill  them  with  stones,  or  catch  them  in  snares.  These  birds 
are  generally  tame  and  unusually  fat,  which  renders  them  delicious 
eating.  The  yard  was  now  full  of  busy  men  ;  the  doorstep  of  happy 
children ;  and  the  house  itself  with  the  industrious  housewives — all 
intent  upon  putting  things  in  order  for  present  comfort  and  future 
summer  use.  Meanwhile  the  dogs  and  little  puppies  enjoyed  them- 
selves romping  over  the  island,  while  I  remembered  the  two  pussies 
as  they  stood  in  the  doorway,  or  rubbed  about  the  doorsash,  or 
stood  their  ground  against  some  venturesome  dog  who  mildly  poked 
his  nose  into  and  inquired  who  was  within  the  door.  The  whole 
scene  is  painted  on  my  memory  as  one  of  delight,  as  the  ap- 
proaching season  wafted  its  breezes  to  a  house  and  yard  full  of 
delighted  beings  who  had  been  cooped  up  for  six  long  months  in 
the  inmost  recesses  of  a  most  piratical  looking  harbor  where  no 
one  would  have  suspected  that  such  a  thing  as  a  house  ever  could 


224  SPRING  DUCK  SHOOTING. 

exist.  Soon  the  ducks  began  to  fly,  and  then  such  sport  as  we  had. 
The  king  eider  came  first,  then  the  common  eider ;  the  former  is 
called  the  passing,  the  latter  the  laying,  duck.  The  birds  at  first 
fly  in  large  flocks,  often  thousands  in  a  flock,  and  generally  the  dif- 
ferent species  do  not  mingle.  They  have  a  certain  course  which 
they  pursue,  and  the  shoals  over  which  they  fly  are  called  the 
"gunning  points."  Here  the  men  and  boys  congregate,  and,  lying 
low,  behind  some  rock  or  cake  of  ice,  await  the  flight.  Some  days 
the  birds  fly  thickly,  others  rarely  any  pass.  The  people  see  them 
at  a  great  distance,  and  often  hear  the  beating  of  their  wings  before 
they  see  them.  The  birds  fly  over  or  along  the  side  of  the  station, 
and  the  minute  the  head  of  the  flock  has  passed  the  first  or  head 
gunner,  he  rises  or  turns  and  fires  when  all  hands  do  likewise,  and 
the  slaughter  begins.  Often  twenty  or  thirty  birds  are  thus  knocked 
down  by  a  party  of  two  or  three  persons  with  double  barrel  guns. 

My  first  spring  ducking  was  in  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  the  1 2th 
of  April,  when  several  of  us  drew  one  of  the  small,  flat  boats  over 
the  ice  to  the  clear  water  beyond,  and,  launching  it,  started  for  the 
gunning  point.  We  brought  home  a  good  bagful  of  birds  that 
night,  and  you  may  be  sure  that  they  were  well  served,  and  well 
disposed  of  the  next  day. 

After  a  few  days'  work  the  house  was  prepared  both  outside  and 
inside  for  our  comfortable  abode.  A  coat  of  blubber — or  the 
remains  of  the  livers  of  the  codfish,  after  the  oil  has  been  boiled 
and  tried  out  of  them  —  as  a  final  touch  was  put  on  to  the  roof 
with  an  old  broom,  and  the  whole  declared  to  be  water-tight,  as  a 
hard  rain  soon  proved  it  to  be.  We  were  now  comfortably  settled, 
and  viewed  with  satisfaction  the  progress  made  each  day  in  the  de- 
struction of  the  bay  ice,  and  the  lessening  of  the  snow  on  the  hills 
beyond  and  the  ground  about  the  island,  by  the  rays  of  the  sun 
which  gained  strength  each  day  as  the  season  advanced. 

The  men  now  turned  their  attention  to  the  boats,  and  began 
repairing  them  for  immediate  use  when  the  ice  should  break  up 
enough  to  enable  them  to  be  launched. 

Monday  the  i8th.      I  visited  the  Indians  this  afternoon,    and 


BIRCH-BARK  CANOES.  225 

completed  a  bargain  for  the  purchase  of  an  Indian  canoe.  These 
Indian  or  birch-bark  canoes  are  getting  to  be  more  and  more  valu- 
able all  along  the  coast.  Formerly  the  bark  grew  in  abundance  in 
certain  localities  on  the  Labrador  shores,  but  the  call  for  it  lately 
has  been  so  great,  since  both  boats  and  huts  are  made  of  it,  that 
the  home  supply  has  become  exhausted,  and  the  Indians  now  send 
for  it  to  Anticosti,  and  even  Gaspe  on  the  south  shore  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  whence  the  greater  part  is  now  obtained.  The  Betula 
papyracea,  the  tree  from  which  this  valuable  product  is  obtained 
has,  strange  to  say,  in  these  regions  at  least,  become  nearly  extinct. 
Of  course,  the  stripping  of  a  tree  of  all  its  bark  or  outer  covering 
at  once  kills  it.  The  great  danger  is,  that  soon  the  probably  already 
limited  quantity  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence  will  also  become  ex- 
hausted, when,  unless  considerable  growths  are  found  upon  the 
island  of  Anticosti,  where  the  Indians  were  recently  engaged  in 
searching  for  it,  the  supply  will  become  entirely  exhausted.  At 
present  the  Indians,  and  those  whites  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  bark  on  hand,  are  very  sparing  of  it,  and  will  sell  only  for 
cash  to  those  parties  with  whom  they  regularly  trade. 

An  Indian  canoe  is  apparently  (to  use  an  American  slang 
phrase)  a  most  "cranky"  affair.  It  is  light,  weighing  according  to 
its  size  from  seventy-five  to  two  hundred  pounds.  The  ordinary 
canoe  is  about  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  long,  and  two  feet  and  six  inches 
wide  in  the  centre,  its  widest  part,  while  the  depth  is  about  three 
fifths  of  its  width.  From  the  middle  both  ends  taper,  cigar-shaped 
to  the  bow  and  stern.  Each  end  is  slightly  elevated  and  pointed ; 
but  it  is  needless  to  describe  further  the  shape  of  an  Indian  canoe. 
Within  this  apparently  frail  craft  the  natives  go  from  place  to  place 
— of  course  seldom  venturing  far  out  to  sea — with  the  utmost 
freedom.  I  have  seen  them  rocked  about  near  shore  in  the  surf 
when  it  seemed  as  if  the  waves  would  overpower  them  at  any 
moment ;  and  then  again  I  have  seen  a  canoe  with  a  single  individ- 
ual paddling  as  easily  and  regularly  through  a  narrow  pass  against 
high  waves  that  had  appeared  too  dangerous  for  many  of  the  older 
boatsmen  with  their  wooden  boats.  In  these  small  canoes,  that 
15 


226  SEAL  NETS. 


appear  to  toss  and  rock  about  so  frightfully  to  one  not  acquainted 
with  their  use,  whole  families  of  Indians,  often  comprising  three  men, 
two  women,  and  several  small  children,  will  go  from  island  to  island 
or  harbor  to  harbor  miles  apart,  in  most  squally  weather ;  when 
thus  moving  about  they  carry  their  luggage  with  them.  What,  then, 
would  be  the  surprise  to  see,  as  is  often  the  case,  a  canoe  literally 
and  absolutely  loaded  to  within  three  to  five  inches  of  the  top  with 
a  family  moving,  in  fine  weather,  to  some  location  miles  farther  up 
or  down  the  coast.  In  a  number  of  years  there  has  come  but  a 
single  instance,  that  I  can  recall,  when  a  load  of  this  kind  has  been 
swamped  and  any  of  the  family  have  perished. 

It,  of  course,  takes  some  time  for  any  one  to  become  an  adept 
in  the  use  of  these  canoes,  and  though  I  finally  purchased  a  good 
second-hand  one,  I  made  little  use  of  it  save  to  paddle  about 
around  the  islands  where  we  were  staying,  and  over  to  the  nearest 
island  beyond,  where  neighbors  resided,  a  distance  of  perhaps  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  point  to  point ;  but  it  was  most  excellent 
exercise,  and  I  enjoyed  it  heartily.  The  price  here  of  a  new  canoe 
that  will  hold  say  four  people  and  their  baggage,  and  eighty  odd 
pounds,  is  somewhere  in  the  region  of  from  ^']  to  JP^Z  of  New- 
foundland money,  or,  being  four  dollars  to  a  pound,  some  twenty- 
eight  dollars,  varying  two  or  three  dollars  either  way.  There  are 
generally  but  one  or  two  Indians  in  a  tribe  that  can  make  a  first- 
class  canoe,  and  these  have  their  hands  full  the  greater  part  of  the 
time. 

In  the  evening  we  lashed  the  canoe  that  I  had  purchased  to  our 
komatik  and  started  for  home. 

The  next  two  or  three  days  were  spent  in  netting  a  net  with 
which  to  capture  seals.  A  seal  net  is  an  immense  affair  made  of 
stout  salmon  twine,  and  netted  in  meshes  usually  about  six  inches 
from  knot  to  knot,  the  best  size  being  apparently  twenty-seven 
meshes  wide,  with  a  length  of  about  forty-five  fathoms,  or  about 
two  hundred  and  sixty  feet.  The  process  of  netting  is  one  that 
cannot  well  be  described.  The  needle  that  holds  the  twine  is  of 
peculiar  make.     The  meshes  are  made  by  doubling  the  thread  over 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  MAILMAN.  227 

a  small  card  of  the  required  size,  while  the  knot  is  tied  and  the 
whole  is  drawn  tight.  When  made  the  knot  comes  on  the  ridge  of 
the  card  and  cannot  be  slipped ;  this  forms  a  string  of  loops  into 
each  one  of  which  the  needle  is  passed  while  a  new  series  of  loops 
are  knotted  on  the  card  just  below  these.  In  this  way  the  netter 
proceeds  with  twine,  or  needle  or  card,  of  any  size,  and  fashions  a 
tightly  knotted  network  of  any  size  he  may  desire.  In  this  way  all 
the  cod  seines,  nets  or  traps,  are  made,  while  the  six  inch  seal  mesh, 
and  the  quarter  or  eighth  inch  bottom  to  the  dip  net  or  lance  seine, 
undergo  the  same  process.  The  work,  however,  is  quite  easy  and 
most  fascinating. 

Wednesday  the  20th.  Great  has  been  the  joy  of  all  hands  to-day. 
The  mailman  has  at  last  arrived  with  news  from  home.  Our  last 
letter  bore  the  postmark  of  Sept.  23,  and  here  it  is  over  seven 
months  since  knowing  whether  those  we  left  at  home  are  dead  or 
alive,  or  our  country  prosperous.  How  eagerly  those  letters  were 
read,  and  the  papers  studied,  I  will  leave  you  to  imagine.  It  was 
indeed  a  joyful  day. 

The  winter  mail  for  the  coast  of  Labrador  arrives,  usually,  some 
time  the  latter  end  of  March,  by  special  carrier.  This  man  starts 
from  Bersimis,  which  is  a  small  village  about  one  hundred  and  forty 
or  fifty  miles  from  Quebec,  and  for  which  place  the  mail  starts  from 
Quebec  on  or  about  the  first  of  February,  about  the  fifteenth  of 
that  month.  He  travels  on  foot  with  snowshoes — sometimes  by 
komatik — with  the  mail  upon  his  back  in  a  stout  leathern  bag,  and 
makes  daily  marches  of  from  fifteen  to  thirty  miles,  according  to 
the  weather  and  the  travelling.  Though  the  distance  between 
Bersimis  and  Esquimaux  Point,  the  end  of  the  route  generally  for 
the  first  carrier,  is  only  about  two  hundred  and  six  direct 
miles,  it  becomes  at  least  a  quarter  to  a  third  more  by  the  route 
taken,  since  there  are  bays  to  go  round  and  rivers  to  cross ;  so 
that  often  instead  of  ten  it  takes  twenty  days  to  accomplish  the 
distance.  It  is  forwarded  to  Bersimis  from  Quebec,  I  believe,  by 
coach,  this  being  the  stage  limit ;  should  it  be  late,  however,  the 
time  is  extended  so  much.     As  there  are  houses  every  few  miles 


228  LABRADOR  MAILS. 


apart  all  up  and  down  the  coast  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  drop  into 
one  of  them  for  the  night,  and  along  the  route  the  mailman  is 
always  welcome.  Strange  to  say,  there  are  branch  post-offices  at 
stated  places  along  the  line,  and  at  these  places  only  is  the  bag 
opened,  while  the  carrier  takes  the  letters  to  the  various  people  to 
whom  they  are  directed  on  his  homeward  trip ;  and  even  this  is 
done  by  courtesy,  since  it  is  required  by  law,  I  believe,  that  the 
letters  shall  only  be  delivered  to  those  to  whom  they  are  addressed 
by  the  lawful  mailman ;  the  carrier,  being  only  a  paid  messenger, 
has  no  responsibility  but  to  deliver  the  bag  containing  the  letters 
and  papers  in  safe  condition  to  the  postmaster  at  the  end  of  the 
route,  who  takes  upon  himself  the  responsibility  of  sending  them 
along  the  line  by  the  returning  carrier — thus  making  himself  liable, 
while  trusting  only  in  the  good  faith  of  the  carrier,  to  damage  for 
any  losses  sustained.  At  Esquimaux  Point,  the  mail  is  taken  by 
another  man  who  has  travelled  u{)  the  coast  while  the  first  man 
was  travelling  down.  The  carrier  from  Bersimis  returns  to  that 
place  with  the  return  mail,  while  the  one  from  Bonne  Esperance, 
who  has  thus  disposed  of  the  up  mail  on  its  way  to  Quebec,  returns 
to  the  former  place  with  the  down,mail.  This  is  taken  in  the  usual 
way,  but  more  frequently  by  komatik,  since  the  bays  are  generally 
frozen  over  by  this  time,  and  travelling  upon  them  is  infinitely 
better  than  over  the  deep  snow- clad  hills  which  here  begin  to  line 
the  coast.  I  should  have  said  that  the  mail  first  stops  at  Mingan,  a 
post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  company,  where  one  of  that  company's 
agents  is  usually  an  authorized  mail  agent  also.  From  Esquimaux 
Island  the  mail  goes  to  Natashquan,  the  next  regular  office,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  one  hundred  miles,  and  from  that  place,  through  a 
tract  of  country  the  most  difficult  yet  travelled,  especially  in  bad  or 
mild  winter  weather.  The  carrier  is  often  obliged  to  go  over  high  hills, 
away  inland,  to  cross  creeks  or  bays  that  are  not  yet  frozen  over, 
and  which  are  scarcely  a  mile  or  two  across,  and  at^St.  Augustine, 
much  out  of  the  regular  route,  to  cross  the  deep  and  irregular  cut 
of  Shecatica  Bay  to  Bonne  Esperance.  The  whole  distance,  thus 
reckoned,  is   about   two   hundred   and   fifty  miles.      Thus   from 


HOW  THEY  ARE  CARRIED.  229 

Bersimis  to  Bonne  Esperance,  a  distance  of  about  seven  hundred 
miles,  the  mail  is  taken  by  the  carrier  who  tramps  the  distance  gen- 
erally with  snowshoes  or  rackets  at  the  rate  of  from  fifteen  to  thirty 
miles  a  day,  as  I  have  said  ;  hence,  though  the  mail  generally  starts 
from  Quebec  on  the  first  or  second  of  February,  it  seldom  reaches 
its  terminus  before  the  last  of  March  or  the  first  of  April.  A  long 
time  to  wait  for  one's  letters,  you  will  say ;  and  indeed  it  is,  but  you 
hardly  mind  it  when  your  news  from  home  does  come,  especially 
if  it  be  good  news. 

After  reaching  Bonne  Esperance,  a  special  carrier  is  sent  on  to 
Blanc  Sablon,  eighteen  miles  farther  down  the  coast,  with  the 
remainder  of  the  mail.  The  peninsula  of  Labrador  proper  beyond 
receives  no  mail  until  the  lighthouse  steamer,  a  small  vessel  which 
is  sent  yearly  by  the  Canadian  government  at  Quebec  to  supply  the 
lighthouses  along  the  coast  with  provisions,  oil  for  the  lights,  and 
coal,  brings  a  second  mail,  in  the  early  spring,  as  soon  generally  as 
open  water  will  allow  passage.  In  the  summer,  the  mail  comes  and 
goes,  several  times  in  the  course  of  the  season,  by  the  traders  who 
bring  it  from  and  return  it  to  Quebec  ;  while  another  also  arrives 
from  Natashquan,  via  packet  from  Gaspe  on  the  south  shore,  twice 
a  month  which  is  taken  up  by  some  authorized  trading  vessel — 
most  every  trader  stops  at  this  port — and  carried  onward;  and 
still  another  mail  comes  from  the  States  via  Newfoundland,  by  a 
mail  steamer,  employed  at  one  of  the  fishing  stations,  that  makes 
bi-weekly  trips  from  St.  John's  to  one  or  two  localities  on  this  part 
of  the  coast.  In  this  way  the  people  on  the  coast  of  Labrador  re- 
ceive and  send  their  yearly  mails.  A  cable  runs  from  Anticosti  to 
Quebec,  by  way  of  the  south  shore  and  it  is  soon  hoped  that  one 
will  be  laid  from  that  island  to  Mingan,  at  least,  the  post  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  before  alluded  to,  if  not  farther  down  the 
coast, —  but  there  is  yet  much  to  hope  for  on  this  score. 

The  weather  now  began  to  be  fine,  and  the  warm  sun  to  melt 
away  the  snow,  and  turn  to  green  the  brown  winter-killed  leaves  of 
the  plants  already  brought  to  light,  in  the  damp  mosses  on  the  hill 
tops  and  occasionally  on  the  plains.     The  birds  were  becoming 


230  ROBINS  — SPRING  SCENES. 

abundant  once  more,  and  apparently  sighing  for  their  mates,  while 
all  nature  began  to  rejoice. 

I  cannot  describe  the  characteristic  aspect  of  a  Labrador  scene. 
It  is  one  peculiar  to  the  region  itself  and  must  be  seen  and  felt  to 
be  appreciated. 

The  extensively  broken  coast  line  affords  you  a  varied  view  of 
now  sea  and  now  land,  in  the  shape  of  some  island  or  promontory 
of  the  mainland — the  former  being  more  usually  the  case.  High 
and  low  hill  tops  crown  the  immediate  coast  line,  in  the  majority 
of  places,  while  often  their  somewhat  distant  outline  reminds  you 
much  —  if  you  close  the  view  in  other  directions  —  of  our  own 
eastern  United  States  scenes  of  hilly  outline  in  the  distant  horizon. 
A  spring  month,  to  one  situated  on  one  of  these  little  islands,  is 
always  most  delightful.  The  novelty  of  busy  preparation  for  the 
summer  season  combined  with  the  animation  which  all  nature  pre- 
sents as  well  as  the  balmy  air  and  the  peculiarities  of  situation  and 
surrounding  objects,  cause  one  to  feels  a  freedom  scarcely  to  be 
imagined,  since  care  is  thrown  to  the  winds  and  you  immediately 
find  something  that  occupies  you  pleasantly,  almost  without  know- 
ing it ;  while  each  day,  as  it  passes,  adds  to  the  pleasure  felt. 

My  joy  can  easily  be  imagined  when,  one  day,  towards  the  latter 
end  of  the  month,  one  of  the  men,  knowing  how  I  sought  for  birds 
and  other  natural  objects,  brought  me  a  robin  which  he  had  shot 
a  short  time  previous  outside  the  yard,  and  not  far  from  the  house. 
It  was  the  first  real  home  bird  that  had  greeted  me,  and  was  all  the 
more  appreciated  for  that.  The  robin  does  not  appear  abun- 
dant in  Labrador ;  though  a  few  breed  here,  inland  and  along  the 
rivers. 

This  week  I  rosined  the  bottom  and  sides  of  my  canoe.  In  this 
operation,  as  generally  performed  by  the  Indians,  the  seams  of 
the  canoes  are  covered  tightly  with  spmce  gum  and  rosin,  while 
should  any  leaks  appear,  they  are  covered  over  with  a  different 
preparation  usually  made  by  the  Indians,  thus  :  a  quality  of  rosin  is  put 
into  a  tin  can,  and  a  small  portion  of  oil  —  seal  or  whale,  usually 
the  former  —  is  added  to  it,  with  a  very  little  paint, — white  lead — the 


"BANQUESE"  ICE.  231 


whole  is  then  put  over  the  fire  and  heated.  As  it  melts,  oil  is  con- 
stantly added,  a  little  at  a  time,  and  the  mixture  stirred  with  a  stick. 
As  soon  as  the  substance  will  drop  from  the  stick,  instead  of  run- 
ning freely  from  the  end,  the  pot  is  taken  off  the  fire  immediately 
and  the  leaks  in  the  canoe  are  thickly  coated  with  it  while  yet  hot. 
An  Indian  finds  a  leak  in  his  canoe  most  ingeniously.  After  rosin- 
ing all  the  apparent  cracks,  he  goes  all  over  the  boat  again  apply- 
ing his  lips  to  every  suspicious  looking  place,  and,  exerting  both 
suction  and  pressure,  soon  discovers  the  places  where  air  is  still  ad- 
mitted ;  these  he  rosins,  and  then  his  canoe  is  launched  and  tested 
by  paddling  a  short  distance  or  rolHng  and  rocking  it  violently 
from  side  to  side.  If,  after  a  sufficient  time,  water  appears,  the  bot- 
tom is  again  examined,  and  redressed  with  rosin  until  it  is  tight. 
When  an  Indian  has  finished  with  his  canoe  for  the  day,  he  takes  it 
out  of  the  water  and  turns  it  bottom  side  up,  and,  if  possible,  throws 
spruce  boughs  upon  it  to  keep  the  sun  from  melting  the  seams  ;  if  no 
covering  can  be  obtained  he  leaves  it  bottom  down  upon  the  softest 
place  he  can  find,  that  the  bottom  may  be  protected  ^rom  scratches. 
A  canoe  is  always  lifted,  as  so  much  dead  weight  both  from  and 
into  the  water. 

One  of  the  peculiarities  of  a  Labrador  spring  scene  is  that  of 
drifting  or  "banquese"  ice.  This  is  ice  that  breaks  up  in  some 
northern  locality,  and  flows,  in  greater  or  smaller  masses,  through 
the  Straits  towards  the  Gulf  and  open  sea,  generally  melting  by  the 
time  it  reaches  the  Magdalene  Islands.  The  "banquese"  ice  often 
lies  a  mile  or  so  off  shore,  and,  to  the  naked  eye,  appears  to  be  cov- 
ered with  logs  and  sticks,  apparently  from  some  wreck.  A  good 
glass  will  show  the  mistake  at  once,  and  you  find,  with  surprise, 
that  they  are  so  many  seals,  both  old  and  young.  If  they  are 
abundant,  boats  are  put  off  and  the  seal-hunting  begins. 

Tuesday,  May  3d.  I  spent  most  of  the  day  in  examining  several 
Esquimaux  graves,  but  found  only  a  few  old  bones,  and  a  substance 
resembling  seals'  hair  in  each  case  within  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet 
of  the  top  of  the  mound.     The  graves  were  five  in  number,  but 


232  BIRDS. 

everything  had  disappeared  so  that  nothing  of  any  worth  rewarded 
my  work. 

Wednesday  the  nth.  I  started  off  on  a  trip  down  the  coast,  but 
not  before  having  secured  a  specimen  of  the  pintail  duck  {Dafila 
acuta)  that  one  of  the  men  shot  while  it,  with  its  mate,  was  feed- 
ing in  a  shallow  bay  of  the  sea,  in  front  of  the  house.  It  is  very 
rare  in  these  parts,  and  seldom  seen  here,  though  not  uncommon,  I 
believe,  in  parts  of  Newfoundland. 

Thursday  the  1 2th.  Passed  into  Blanc  Sablon  to-day ;  the  bay, 
at  its  entrance,  was  full  of  birds  of  all  kinds.  I  noted  several  spe- 
cies of  gulls  and  terns,  including  several  jaegers,  or  what  are  often 
called  hagdowns  or  shearwaters,  while  ducks  were  plentiful,  and  the 
pufifins  or  paroquets  abounded  in  tens  of  thousands.  Greenley 
Island,  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  has  always  been  a  noted  place 
for  these  birds.  They  breed  here  in  vast  numbers,  covering  the 
ground  everywhere  with  burrows.  There  are  now  only  two  or  three 
places  on  this  part  of  the  coast  where  the  puffin  breeds  in  any  num- 
bers, and  Greenley  Island  is  one  of  them  ;  another  place  is  the  Para- 
keetl  Islands,  in  Bradore  harbor.  The  bird  seems  now  more 
abundant  at  the  former  place.  Though  I  visited  the  island,  and 
made  personal  observations  there,  I  find  that  the  ground  was  so 
well  and  thoroughly  gone  over  by  Dr.  Elliott  Coues,  some  years 
previous,  that  I  give  his  description  of  this  species,  as  covering  the 
ground  in  so  complete  and  natural  a  manner  that  I  am  sure  it  can- 
not fail  to  interest.  Though  I  have  seen  and  identified  nearly  all 
of  Dr.  Coues'  points  here  given,  a  few  of  them  are  new  however. 
He  says  : —  "  The  habit  of  collecting  in  immense  numbers  at  par- 
ticular localities  during  the  breeding  season,  so  characteristic  of  the 
whole  family  of  Alcidae,  is  a  trait  exhibited  in  the  highest  degree  by 
the  species  now  under  consideration.  With  scarcely  the  exception 
of  the  common  murre,  no  bird  of  the  family  shows  so  preeminently 
gregarious  a  disposition  as  does  the  Arctic  puffin.  Collecting,  as  it 
does,  in  thousands,  on  particular  islands  of  small  extent,  it  becomes 
a  matter  of  astonishment  that  food  can  be  procured  in  sufficient 


PARRAKEET  ISLANDS.  233 

quantity  to  sustain  them,  so  that  each  pair  can  find  a  place  to  de- 
posit its  eggs.  The  pertinacity,  too,  with  which  they  chng  to  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  their  breeding  place  is  remarkable.  But  a 
very  short  distance  from  an  island  where  there  are  thousands,  it  is 
a  comparatively  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  puffin.  The  most  ex- 
tensive of  these  breeding  places  appears  to  be  an  island  near  the 
harbor  of  Bradore,  visited  by  Audubon  in  1833,  of  which  he  has 
written  so  graphic  and  instructive  an  account.  The  one,  however, 
that  I  had  an  opportunity  of  visiting  cannot  be  much  behind  it  in 
point  of  the  numbers  of  the  birds  breeding  on  it ;  and  during  a  stay 
of  three  days  I  had  ample  opportunity  of  examining  the  island  and 
noting  the  manners  of  its  curious  population.  My  visit  was  on  the 
25th,  26th,  and  27th  of  July.  Let  a  short  extract  from  my  journal 
describe  our  approach  to  the  island. 

''We  were  now  within  less  than  a  mile  from  the  island,  towards 
which  all  eyes  were  anxiously  turned,  and  still  not  a  bird  met  our 
gaze.  But  a  few  minutes  more,  however,  and  they  commenced  to 
appear,  flying  around  the  boat  or  resting  on  the  water ;  all  were 
'parrakeets,'  and  'tinkers,'  except  now  and  then  a  solitary  '  turre.' 
They  were  tamer  than  I  had  ever  seen  birds  before,  almost  flying 
into  our  little  whale  boat ;  it  was  hard  to  restrain  from  firing. 
As  we  rounded  the  island  close  to  the  shore,  they  came  tumbling 
out  of  their  holes  by  hundreds,  and,  with  the  thousands  we  disturbed 
from  the  surface  of  the  water,  soon  made  a  perfect  cloud  above  and 
around  us,  no  longer  flying  in  flocks,  but  forming  one  dense,  con- 
tinuous mass,  and  yet  not  a  gun  had  been  fired. 

"The  Parrakeet  Islands  are  three  in  number,  lying  along  the 
western  shore  of  Blanc  Sablon  Bay,  just  at  its  mouth.  The  one  I 
visited  is  the  innermost  as  well  as  the  largest,  though  the  others  are 
equally  crammed  with  the  birds.  It  is  about  a  mile  in  circumfer- 
ence ;  in  shape  almost  a  perfect  semicircle,  with  two  points  stretch- 
ing out  and  inclosing  a  snug  cove,  where  only  can  a  landing  be 
effected  with  safety.  It  is  abrupt  and  precipitous  on  three  sides,  the 
fourth  sloping  gradually  down  to  the  cove.  The  top  is  nearly  flat, 
and  covered  with  a  rather  luxuriant  growth  of  grass,  the  soil  being 
15* 


234  HOW  PARRAKEETS  BREED. 

enriched  by  the  innumerable  droppings  of  the  birds.  The  three 
sides  in  which  the  holes  are  dug  are  so  steep  and  precipitous  that  it  re- 
quires considerable  agility  to  scramble  along  them,  the  danger  of  fall- 
ing into  the  water  being  increased  by  the  slipperiness  of  the  soil, 
worn  smooth  by  innumerable  feet,  and  continually  moistened  with 
ordure.  The  sides  are  composed  of  soft,  loamy  earth,  with  rocks 
of  every  size  and  shape  jutting  out  in  all  directions,  and  afford  the 
most  favorable  possible  conditions  for  the  excavation  of  the  bur- 
rows. The  fourth  side  between  the  two  points  is  composed  mostly 
of  masses  of  rock,  in  the  crevices  of  which  the  auks  chiefly  deposit 
their  eggs ;  they  very  often  appropriate  the  deserted  holes  of  the 
puffins. 

"  The  holes  in  the  ground  in  which  the  puffins  deposit  their  eggs 
(a  habit,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  entirely  peculiar  to  the  genus  in  this 
family  of  birds)  are  excavated  by  the  birds  themselves,  an  operation 
for  which  their  powerful  beaks,  and  long,  strong,  and  sharp  claws 
admirably  adapt  them.  They  extend  nearly  or  quite  in  an  horizon- 
tal direction,  and  are  semicircular  in  shape,  with  the  diameter  scarcely 
larger  than  is  necessary  for  the  free  passage  of  a  single  bird.  They 
vary  much  in  length,  but  the  majority  are  not  so  deep  but  that  the 
egg  may  be  reached  by  thrusting  in  the  arm  to  its  full  extent. 
Their  course  is  seldom  in  a  straight  direction ;  they  curve  and  wind 
in  a  most  tortuous  manner,  many  burrows  being  connected  to- 
gether by  winding  passages.  The  entrances  to  the  holes  are  worn  flat 
and  smooth  by  continual  paddling  from  the  feet  of  the  birds,  and, 
as  well  as  the  whole  sides  of  the  island,  are  moist  and  slippery  with 
the  ordure.  The  sides  of  the  island,  just  above  high  water  mark  to 
the  very  top,  are  perforated  with  innumerable  holes,  but  on  the  top 
itself  not  a  suigle  burrow  is  to  be  seen. 

"  At  the  further  extremity  of  the  hole,  which  is  usually  a  little  en- 
larged, the  single  egg  is  deposited,  always  a  slight  bed  of  dried 
grasses  being  first  arranged  to  keep  it  from  the  moist  earth.  I 
have  indeed  found  eggs  lying  on  the  bare  ground  near  the  entrance 
of  the  burrows,  whither  they  had  apparently  been  dragged  by  the 
bird  as  it  hurriedly  made  its  exit ;  but  in  no  instance  did  I  find  one 


A  BIRD  WITH  A  BILL.  235 

in  its  usual  position  at  the  farther  extremity,  that  was  not  upon  a 
layer  of  grass.  I  noticed  this  fact  the  more  particularly  since  Au- 
dubon especially  states  that  no  nest  whatever  is  formed  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  egg.  Without  for  a  moment  doubting  the  accuracy 
of  that  great  naturalist's  observations,  the  present  case  is  only  ad- 
ditional proof  of  the  extent  to  which  the  birds'  habits  are  influenced 
by  circumstances ;  the  position  of  nests,  the  number  of  eggs,  etc., 
varying  much,  and  the  food  changing  in  a  measure  with  every 
change  of  locality.  The  eggs  measure  two  and  a  half  inches  in 
length,  by  one  and  three-fourths  in  greatest  diameter,  varying  very 
little  from  this  standard ;  in  shape,  which  is  rather  rounded  ovate, 
they  differ  in  being  more  or  less  obtuse  at  the  smaller  end.  The 
greatest  diameter  is  nearly  opposite  the  middle.  The  shell  is  usu- 
ally more  or  less  granulated,  but  differs  much  in  the  extent  of  the  gran- 
ulation. The  color  is  white  or  whitish,  varying  from  nearly  pure  to 
a  brownish  hue,  the  latter  color  being  in  the  shell,  and  not  caused 
by  soiling  or  discoloration.  They  are  marked  with  obsolete,  almost 
imperceptible  dots,  spots,  and  lines  of  light  purplish,  mostly  con- 
centrated into  a  ring  around  the  large  end.  There  are  sometimes 
a  few  irregular  splashes  of  very  light  yellowish  brown.  Audubon  is 
clearly  in  error  when  he  states  that  they  are  simply  'pure  white.' 
At  that  date  (July  25)  they  all,  with  few  exceptions  contained 
young  about  to  be  hatched." 

A  great  trick  of  the  Labradorians  is  to  get  a  greenhorn  to  stick 
his  hand  into  one  of  the  burrows  of  this  bird  when  the  bird  is  sup- 
posed to  be  within.  If  you  carefully  examine  the  bill  —  of  horn, 
nearly  two  inches  in  length  and  about  the  same  in  height  —  one  will 
see  that  a  most  alarming  species  of  forceps  may  be  thus  put  in  mo- 
tion, and,  as  the  bird  is  one  of  the  fiercest  of  its  kind,  can  readily 
imagine  why  the  victim  never  repeats  the  experiment. 

The  number  of  birds  that  I  saw  on  Greenley  Island  was  simply 
immense,  and  could  easily  have  been  a  multiple,  and  not  a  small 
one,  of  ten  thousand.  I  have  often  seen  the  water  covered  with  a 
clustered  flock,  all  engaged  in  making  a  hoarse,  rasping  sound,  not 
unlike  the  filing  of  a  saw;  this  is  also  done  both  by  the  "murre," 
and  the  "  turre,"  and  at  such  times,  which  ever  species  is  present, 


236  A  DAY'S  "SHOOT." 


they  receive  from  the  sailors  the  name  of  ''  guds,"  from  a  fancied 
resemblance  to  that  sound.  When  on  the  wing  I  seldom  if  ever 
saw  them  mix  with  other  birds.  Though  they  appear  in  large  num- 
bers, at  stated  times,  they  disappear,  or  rather  disperse  after  breed- 
ing, almost  as  suddenly  as  they  came ;  yet  stragglers  do  not  leave 
until  the  harbors  are  blocked  up  with  ice.  At  Greenley  Island  al- 
though there  is  a  large  fish-curing  establishment,  houses,  and  a 
light-house  on  the  northeast  end  of  the  island,  the  birds  occupy 
the  other  side  unmolested,  and  are  seldom  interfered  with  by  gun- 
ners ;  yet  the  island  is  scarcely  three-quarters  of  a  mile  long  in  its 
longest  direction,  and  even  less  than  half  a  mile  wide.  Though  I 
have  used  up  much  space  for  this  bird,  I  can  but  finish  Dr.  Coues' 
most  interesting  description  of  this  strange  species  of  the  feathered 
tribe,  especially  as  it  accords  so  nearly  with  our  own  experience. 
He  says  : — 

"  Hardly  had  our  boat  touched  the  shore  than  we  leaped  out, 
guns  in  hand,  and  at  once  scattered  over  the  island.  As  we  wan- 
dered along  the  sides,  the  affrighted  birds  darted  past  us  like  arrows, 
issuing  from  their  burrows  beneath  our  feet  and  around  us,  and  all 
making  directly  for  the  water.  Those  already  disturbed  flew  in 
every  direction  above  us,  while  thousands  rested  on  the  water  in  a 
dense  mass  at  a  little  distance.  I  took  my  stand  on  a  flat  rock,  and 
in  less  than  an  hour  a  pile  of  puffins,  more  than  I  could  carry,  lay 
at  my  feet.  Shortly  after  I  commenced  firing  the  birds  formed 
themselves  into  an  immense  circle,  of  a  diameter  of  perhaps  a  third 
of  a  mile,  one  point  of  which  just  grazed  the  island.  It  was  aston- 
ishing to  see  with  what  precision  this  circle  was  preserved,  each 
bird  flying  directly  in  the  wake  of  the  one  that  preceded.  I  had 
merely  to  stand  facing  the  advancing  birds,  and  no  better  oppor- 
tunity for  continual  slaughter  could  be  desired.  I  now  realized 
what  I  had  been  told,  but  had  found  hard  to  believe,  that  a  wagon 
might  be  filled  wiih  the  birds  by  a  tolerably  expert  workman,  shoot- 
ing them  at  just  such  a  moment  that  they  should  fall  into  it.  The 
poor  things  seemed  not  at  all  aware  of  the  nature  of  the  danger  that 
threatened  them  ;  flying  so  close  past  me  that  I  could  almost  strike 
them  with  my  gun.     During  the  continual  firing  the  birds  would 


SOME  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  PUFFIN.  237 

emerge  from  their  holes  every  minute  or  two  ;  and  after  shooting  for 
half  an  hour  on  one  spot  I  was  not  a  Httle  surprised  to  see  two  or 
three  start  out  almost  from  between  my  feet,  and  in  a  great  fright 
make  the  best  of  their  way  down  to  the  water.  On  emerging  from 
their  holes  the  birds  generally  looked  around  for  a  moment  to  see 
what  was  the  matter,  and  then,  in  great  haste,  fluttered  and  tumbled 
down  to  the  water  below,  in  which  they  immediately  dove,  and,  swim- 
ming swiftly  under  water,  reappeared  at  some  distance.  From  the 
countless  thousands  around  me  I  did  not  hear  the  slightest  note  of 
any  kind ;  they  flew  in  perfect  silence. 

"  The  flight  of  the  puflin,  when  once  on  the  wing,  is  firm,  well  sus- 
tained, very  swift,  and  performed  with  short,  quick,  vigorous  beats. 
When  it  takes  wing  from  a  rock,  whence  it  can  project  itself  into 
the  air,  it  at  once  supports  itself  without  difliculty ;  but  when  on 
the  water,  it  is  obliged  to  flap  over  the  surface  for  several  yards  be- 
fore it  can  rise  on  wing.  When  getting  under  way,  the  feet  are 
extended  backwards  and  outwards  on  each  side  of  the  tail,  which 
is  spread,  but  they  are  soon  drawn  up,  and  the  tail  closed.  When 
shot  at  and  not  touched,  like  the  auks,  they  swerve  from  their 
course,  open  and  shut  the  tail,  and  extend  the  feet.  When  stand- 
ing on  a  rock  at  the  entrance  of  their  burrows,  where  they  alight 
without  the  slightest  difliculty,  they  present  a  peculiar  grotesque 
appearance,  such  as  is  afforded  by  no  other  bird. 

"  When  taken  in  the  hand  the  puflin  utters  a  loud,  hoarse,  croak- 
ing scream,  at  the  same  time  fighting  furiously.  They  are  capable 
of  inflicting  a  very  severe  wound  with  their  powerful  bills,  easily  draw- 
ing blood.  Their  long  and  strong  inner  claw  is  also  an  effective 
weapon,  so  that  by  dint  of  scratching,  biting,  and  struggling,  they 
proved  difficult  customers  to  manage."  With  regard  to  this  same 
claw  he  says  : — "  I  could  not  but  admire  the  beautiful  provision  of 
nature  with  regard  to  furnishing  this  bird  with  the  means  of  excava- 
ting its  burrows  with  facility.  The  inner  claw  of  each  foot  is  very 
long,  much  curved,  and  excessively  sharp.  To  preserve  it  so,  when 
not  in  use,  it  always  lies  perfectly  flat,  so  that  the  point  does  not 
rest  on  the  ground.  In  digging  and  fighting,  however,  it  is  held 
upright,  and  then  becomes  a  very  effective  weapon." 


238  "TURRES,"  AND  "MURRES." 

With  regard  to  the  razor-billed  auk,  the  "tinker,"  or  "  turre," 
while  on  the  subject  of  auks,  I  will  say  that  I  have  noticed  them 
breeding  on  a  small  island  in  almost  as  large  colonies  as  the  parra- 
keets.  At  the  Fox  Islands,  off  Kecarpwei  River,  they  are  very  abun- 
dant ;  several  of  us  landed,  and  had  about  the  same  sport  Dr.  Coues 
mentions  as  having  had  with  the  puffins ;  I  noticed  them  in  thous- 
ands about  several  other  small  islands  also,  and  am  informed  by 
the  inhabitants  that  this  species  was  always  very  abundant  about 
this  locality  while  much  rarer  and  replaced  by  the  "  murre  "  farther 
northward.  They  breed  in  the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  long,  deep, 
and  narrow  ones  being  preferred.  I  did  not  find  but  a  single  egg, 
but  was  repeatedly  told  by  the  people,  that  if  I  took  the  eggs,  the 
bird  would  lay  again  the  next  day.  The  inhabitants  systematically 
take  all  the  eggs  they  can  find  on  a  given  island  regularly  twice  a 
week  throughout  the  breeding  season,  and  find  the  birds  so  wonder- 
fully accommodating  that  the  last  batch  taken  is  nearly  as  numerous 
as  the  first.  The  "  turres  "  associate  both  with  the  "  murres  "  and 
the  black  guillemot.  The  latter  bird  lays  its  eggs,  smaller,  and 
otherwise  distinct,  in  similar  situations  and  often  the  two  are  found 
breeding  side  by  side,  but  seldom  in  any  quantities. 

With  regard  to  the  foolish  guillemot,  or  "  murres,"  I  found  them 
breeding  in  similar  situations  and  together  with  the  razor-billed 
auks.  The  egg  is  noted  for  its  variable  size  and  the  nature  of  its 
marking.  I  have  taken  them  all  the  way  ixom  pure  white,  through 
an  endless  series  of  blotches,  and  waved  Hues  of  black,  purple,  and 
brown,  to  an  almost  pure  green,  and  blue,  and  even  a  delicate  pink 
barely  spotted  or  marked  at  the  larger  end.  The  people  on  the 
coast  cannot  tell  whether  either  the  turre  or  murre  lays  more 
than  a  single  egg,  or  whether  they  sit  upon  their  eggs  or  allow  the 
sun  to  hatch  them.  I  have  been  told,  on  apparently  good  authority, 
that  they  do  sit  upon  their  eggs,  and  consequently  are  furnished 
with  a  large,  bare  place  upon  the  lower  belly  where  they  have 
picked  the  feathers  from  themselves  in  order  to  make  the  proper 
hollow  in  their  downy  covering  for  the  egg  to  rest  in  —  but  I  failed 
to  notice  the  spot  upon  any  of  the  birds  shot.  I  could  not  ascer- 
tain, either,  the  period  of  incubation. 


BLANC  SABLON  IN  SPRING.  239 


CHAPTER  XV. 


''■OF'  THE         v^^>\ 


Blanc  Sablon  again  —  Northern  limits  of  the  bittern  —  Return  along  the  coast 
of  Natashquan  —  Spring  scene  in  Red  Bay  —  Other  places  —  St.  Mary 
islands  —  Cormorants  —  At  Natashquan  —  Ramble  about  the  place  — 
Appearance  of  the  birds  —  The  Dark  Day  —  Arrival  at  Mingan. 


At  Blanc  Sablon  we  anchored  for  the  rest  of  the  day  and  night. 
I  landed,  and  walked  along  the  beach  to  examine  the  general  struc- 
ture of  the  place,  and  found  the  prospect  much  more  pleasant  than 
it  had  been  in  the  winter.  I  caught  sight,  for  a  moment  only,  of  a 
small  sparrow,  which,  I  distinctly  saw  had  a  black  cheek  and  face. 
The  bird  was  about  the  size  of  a  chipping  sparrow,  and  yet  I  dis- 
tinctly noticed  a  large  black  patch  either  on  the  cheek  or  chin, 
which  I  could  not  tell  certainly,  as  he  hopped  past  me  into  the 
rushes  beyond  the  sandy  beach,  and  thence  flew  quickly  to  the 
other  side  of  the  creek.  Here,  also,  I  found  a  person  who  in- 
formed me  that,  a  short  time  previous,  one  of  the  men  had  shot  "  in 
the  marshes  a  bird  with  a  long  neck,  long  bill,  and  long  legs." 
The  American  bittern  i^Botaurus  niino)'^  is  probably  not  rare  here, 
being  in  fact  the  only  bird  of  the  family  which  we  know  as  venturing 
so  far  north  as  this  region,  and  undoubtedly  this  was  the  bird  re- 
ferred to. 

In  the  afternoon  I  took  a  short  walk  around  the  shore.  I  crossed 
a  shallow  streamlet  that,  flowing  through  a  rather  wide  bed  of  sand 
and  small  pebbles  alternating  with  patches  of  muck,  of  which  ma- 
terial neighboring  lands  are  largely  composed,  empties  into  the  salt 
water  at  the  head  of  the  bay.  The  beach  here  I  found  to  consist  of 
yellowish  white  sand. 

Leaving  this  sandy  beach  we  next  came  to  a  beach  of  rocks  and 
debris  from   a   sandstone  ridge  close  by.     After  passing  several 


240  GLACIAL  "EVIDENCES." 

ridges,  all  broken  and  crumbling  on  their  face  towards  the  sea,  we 
came  to  a  long  stretch  of  mucky  meadow,  nearly  if  not  quite  level 
with  the  sea  at  high  tide.  Soon  these  marshy  lands  gave  place  to 
long  ridges  of  glacial-worn,  rounded,  rocky  elevations,  which  run 
into  the  water  in  the  direction  of  Greenley  Island.  This  singular 
formation  of  rock  reminds  one  much  of  an  immense  table,  of  lon- 
gitudinal and  transverse  elevations  and  depressions  of  several  acres 
in  extent,  which  slowly  fall  to  the  sea  easterly  on  both  sides. 

Several  houses  and  sheds  were  perched  here  and  there  with 
apparently  little  beneath  to  support  them,  while  the  rock  itself  fur- 
nished a  natural  ''  fish  flakes,"  upon  which  fish  were  spread  to  dry 
in  the  sun.  The  direction  of  these  ridges,  as  they  fell  off  into  the 
sea,  was  almost  exactly  north  by  east  to  south  by  west,  and,  as  they 
entered  the  water,  they  were  pointing  directly  for  Greenley  Island, 
where  a  grand  confusion  of  broken  rocky  debris  would  undoubtedly 
tell  the  geologist  its  history.  Everywhere  were  present  rounded 
tops,  and  cleft  sides  of  rocks  while  I  was  confident  I  found  upon 
their  surface  several  glacial  scratches  lying  in  about  the  same  general 
direction.  The  whole  mass  reminds  one  of  an  immense  checker- 
board, where  the  boundary  lines  between  the  squares  were  deep 
clefts  and  the  very  top  of  the  squares  rounded  hummocks,  covered 
with  glacial  marks.  There  is  hardly  another  such  location  "on  the 
Labrador,"  as  it  is  here  called,  that  presents  so  unusual  and  decid- 
edly remarkable  an  appearance. 

Friday,  the  13th.  The  wind  has  played  us  one  of  its  tricks,  to- 
day, and  left  for  parts  unknown.  We  tried  all  day  to  get  into 
Forteau  but  were  unable.  We  consoled  ourselves  however,  as  well 
as  possible,  with  roast  duck,  and  waited  for  the  wind.  What  little 
breeze  we  did  have  was  dead  ahead.  Finally  we  returned  to  Blanc 
Sablon,  and  prepared  to  send  letters  home  by  a  small  schooner 
that  we  found  leaving  that  afternoon  for  Gaspe.  Saturday  it  was 
foggy,  and  we  were  unable  to  proceed  but  a  short  distance  from 
the  harbor.  The  gun  at  Greenley  Island  lighthouse,  and  the  steam 
whistle  at  L'Anse  Loup,  kept  up  a  continual  hooting,  while,  near 
to,  we  could  hear  and  almost  see — several  times  we  actually  did 


WHALES,   "  BLOWING"— RED  BAY.  241 


see  them  —  the  whales  as  they  sported  and  spouted  close  to  our 
vessel,  in  spite  of  the  foggy  weather.  We  afterwards  found 
them  very  abundant  in  this  vicinity,  and  often  saw  half  a  dozen 
of  them  within  a  short  distance  of  the  vessel  in  different  directions, 
all  spouting  at  the  same  time.  They  were  probably  of  the  species 
called  finbacks,  since  the  "  spout "  corresponded  to  this  class  of 
whales  more  closely,  being  a  single  stream  sent  upwards  ten  or 
twelve  feet  in  an  almost  perpendicular  line,  falling  back  again  as 
spray  in  nearly  the  same  place.  The  sulphur  bottom,  the  Green- 
land, and  the  hump-backed  whales,  it  is  said,  all  blow  a  double  col- 
umn of  water  rather  obliquely  backwards ;  the  finbacks,  a  high 
straight  stream  some  twelve  feet  directly  upwards  to  fall  back  again 
to  the  same  place  as  spray ;  while  the  sperm  whale  shoots  its  single 
stream  somewhat  forward,  the  spray  falling  forward  and  beyond  the 
head.  Whether  this  distinction  holds  good  in  all  cases  I  do  not 
know,  but  the  seamen  insist  that  it  is  invariably  the  case. 

During  the  night  the  wind  sprang  up  and  we  drifted  nearly  to 
Newfoundland.  In  the  morning  we  found  ourselves  in  sight  of 
houses  two  miles  off  the  land ;  in  a  short  time  we  would  have  been 
on  shore.  About  daylight  the  wind  started  up.  The  outline  of 
the  Labrador  coast,  the  fog  having  cleared  away  by  this  time,  showed 
plain  and  clear.  The  various  buildings  along  the  coast,  and  the 
highlands  of  Bradore,  L'Anse  Dune,  Blanc  Sablon,  L'Anse  Loup, 
Forteau,  and  L'Anse  Diable,  appeared  in  rapid  succession.  We 
noticed  particularly  the  difference  between  Black  or  Pirouette 
River,  with  its  receding  slopes,  on  the  east,  while  the  ridges  of 
the  west  coast  extended  away  back  into  the  country  in  the  shape 
of  huge  rows  of  hills,  that,  though  well  wooded,  appeared  barren 
and  desolate  enough. 

On  we  sailed :  from  the  correspondence  of  the  coast  line 
to  the  position  of  Red  Bay  on  our  charts,  I  felt  we  must  be  near 
that  place  ;  and  soon  Saddle  Island  appeared  ahead  of  us,  and,  with  a 
glass,  we  could  plainly  see  the  church  on  the  hilltop,  and  the  houses 
on  the  slopes  below.  The  passage  to  the  harbor  of  Red  Bay  is 
between  Saddle  Island  and  the  mainland.  It  is  very  small  and 
16 


242  SADDLE  ISLAND. 


narrow,  and  scarcely  perceived  until  you  are  close  to  the  west  of 
it.  The  island  appears  like  a  part  of  the  mainland.  It  is  probably 
one  of  the  most  secluded  harbors  of  the  coast.  Our  surprise  can  be 
imagined.  We  had  supposed  ourselves  at  least  twenty  if  not  thirty 
miles  farther  up  the  coast,  when  we  had  taken  our  first  reckoning. 
When  close  upon  Saddle  Island  the  opening  begins  first  to  appear. 
The  water  is  deep  in  the  passage  —  as  everywhere  in  the  harbor  — 
close  to  the  very  edges  of  the  land  on  either  side,  and  though  the 
passage  was  small  we  beat  in  without  the  slightest  difficulty,  run- 
ning so  near  the  rocks  that  our  boom  nearly  touched  the  rocky 
ledge  ashore  as  we  tacked  ship.  Here  we  entered  a  new  region  : 
I  wish  I  could  picture  it  to  you.  The  air  was  clear,  fresh,  and 
crisp.  The  sky  was  almost  cloudless.  The  hills  presented  most 
charming  natural  pictures  with  their  coverings  of  already  green  foli- 
age. Close  to  the  edge  of  the  water  nestled  the  houses  with  the 
stages  and  workshops  of  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  families. 

When  once  in  the  harbor  we  were  shut  in  completely.  The  high 
top  of  the  crests  on  Saddle  Island  prevented  even  our  mast  from  being 
seen,  while  we  were  easily  led  to  imagine  ourselves  in  one  of  those 
strongholds  of  ancient  piratical  romance, —  always  so  well  chosen 
and  impregnable.  In  the  evening  we  went  ashore  and  heard  a 
good,  earnest  Christian,  of  the  Wesleyan  faith,  lead  a  good  old  New 
England  service  of  evening  prayer.  We  afterwards  occupied  some 
time  in  calling  upon  various  people  dwelling  here,  and  found  them 
very  hospitable. 

Red  Bay  is  the  Newfoundland  headquarters,  for  this  part  of  the 
coast,  of  trade  and  of  the  traders.  It  is  a  very  old  settlement,  and 
contains  several  very  aged  native  inhabitants.  Though  there  are 
one  or  two  large  fisheries  here  in  summer,  there  are  twenty-one 
families  only  that  winter  and  live  here  the  year  around.  A.  M. 
Pike,  one  of  the  oldest  inhabitants,  told  me  that  he  had  lived  on 
the  coast  for  thirty-two  years,  and  that  the  place  was  never  larger — 
except  during  a  little  while  in  the  summer  —  than  at  present.  Of 
the  twenty-one  families,  seven  are  named  Pike,  three  Pennie,  and 
three  Ash.     One  old  gentleman  showed  me  a  sample  of  lead  ore 


RED  BAY  HARBOR.  243 


which  he  said  had  been  taken  from  the  neighboring  hills,  and  also 
informed  me  that  mica,  in  large  sheets,  was  abundant  not  far  off; 
but  no  one  could  inform  me  as  to  Labradorite,  which,  however, 
occurs  as  a  bright  green  and  as  a  black,  glittering,  scaly  variety  in 
several  places  along  the  coast. 

As  a  short  description  of  the  harbor  may  be  of  interest  I  will 
try  to  give  it.  From  Twin  Island,  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
eastern  mouth,  which  is  shaped  much  like  a  carpenter's  square,  we 
approach  directly  to  Saddle  Island,  which  stands  in  the  very  centre 
of  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  so  that,  in  approaching,  neither  the 
eastern  or  western  entrance  is  perceived  until  one  is  directly  upon 
it.  This  island  is  about  twice  as  long  as  it  is  broad,  and  lies  about 
southeast  by  northwest.  There  is  a  hill  on  either  end  one  of 
which  only  contains  a  beacon.  The  island  is  almost  wholly  rock. 
The  depression  between  these  two  crests  reaches  nearly  to  the  level 
of  the  water  and  yet  it  contains  a  pond  of  tolerably  good  water 
where  the  people  obtain  their  usual  supply  for  daily  use  in  the  sum- 
mer time.  In  what  is  known  as  the  outer  harbor,  the  water  is  deep 
on  both  sides  close  to  shore,  while  the  eastern  entrance  is  more 
shallow  than  the  western ;  so  that  while  men-of-war  vessels  often 
pass  in  at  the  western,  and  anchor  within  the  second  or  inner  harbor, 
only  small  boats  can  pass  through  the  eastern  entrance.  The  west- 
ern entrance  enlarges  into  what  is  called  West  Bay.  The  shores 
of  the  outer  harbor  gradually  approach  each  other  to  within  almost 
a  stone's  throw,  and  yet  there  is  ample  room  for  the  largest  man-of- 
war  vessel  to  pass  safely  and  anchor,  as  the  revenue  and  other  ves- 
sels that  often  enter  here  do,  within  the  inner  harbor. 

Close  to  shore  the  inner  harbor  is  shoal,  yet  in  its  centre,  it  is 
very  deep.  In  the  farther  end  of  this  peculiar  hour-glass  are  situ- 
ated the  winter  houses  of  the  inhabitants,  at  the  foot  of  high,  reced- 
ing, unevenly  sloped  and  gorged  hillocks  that  look  like  a  vast 
amphitheatre.  Near  by,  on  the  east  side,  is  a  little  brook ;  here 
plenty  of  fresh  water  is  always  to  be  obtained,  while  the  slopes  of 
the  hills  furnish  abundance  of  firewood,  if  one  will  only  cut  it.  Taken 
all  in  all,  this  is  a  most  beautiful  place,  and  well  calculated  to  ex- 


244  CHARACTER  OF  SADDLE  ISLAND. 


cite  the  enthusiasm  as,  likewise,  the  envy  of  all  lovers  of  beautiful 
scenery.  While  in  general  outline  the  eastern  side  of  the  harbor  is 
low  and  marshy,  the  western  is  composed  of  granite  hills  from  four 
hundred  to  nearly  five  hundred  feet  in  height,  coming  down  to 
within  a  few  fathoms  of  the  sea.  Again  on  the  east  the  little  eleva- 
tion, on  which  stands  the  church,  is  only  seventy-eight  feet  above 
the  sea,  the  hill  immediately  behind  it  one  hundred  and  seventy, 
while  the  highest  and  next  in  order  is  only  two  hundred  and  ten 
feet.  From  this  elevation  I  could  see  beyond  low  earthy  and  gran- 
ite hillocks.  Immense  ridges  and  bowlder-like  rocks  of  granite  were 
lying  about  us  in  every  direction  ;  beneath  were  bays,  ponds,  and  low 
marshy  spots  reaching  in  succession  nearly  to  the  sea  level.  The 
formation  is  so  much  different  on  the  opposite  sides  of  this  harbor 
that  it  is  quite  remarkable.  On  the  west  red  feldspar  predomi- 
nates, in  large  cliffs,  whence  the  name  Red  Bay,  while  on  the  east 
the  rock  is  almost  entirely  granite  or  gneiss.  Saddle  Island,  so 
named  from  its  resemblance  to  a  saddle,  contains  a  most  peculiar 
phenomenon.  In  the  low  marshy  depression  between  the  higher 
extremities  of  the  island  is  situated  a  small  pond.  Though  this 
pond  is  within  a  few  feet  of  the  level  of  the  salt  water,  it  is  so  sweet 
and  fresh  that  the  people  use  it  for  drinking  water.  The  pond  is 
very  deep,  yet  with  no  apparent  inlet  anywhere.  The  outlet  runs 
continually,  yet  the  supply  does  not  appear  to  diminish. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  clear,  beautiful,  varying  shades  of  green  on 
the  slopes,  and  the  dark  oudines  of  the  houses,  as  the  sun  sank  behind 
the  western  hills,  overshadowing  them  for  an  instant,  the  first  night 
of  our  entrance  into  this  charming  little  harbor.  We  could  see  the 
people  all  along  the  shore,  wending  their  way  to  church ;  while  in 
place  of  the  well-known  music  of  the  church  bells,  the  robins,  here 
equally  abundant  as  at  home,  and  the  "russingels,"  or  fox  sparrows, 
sent  forth  a  perfect  medley  of  harmony  that  accorded  well  with  this 
scene. 

Give  me  the  rustic  harmony  of  a  woodland  scene  hke  this,  and 
I  will  defy  the  best  laid  argument  of  philosophy  that  would  attempt 
to  prove  that  such  people,  if  sincere  in  their  worship,  have  not 


A  RUSTIC  SCENE  — RETURN.  245 

reached  the  outermost  circle  of  heaven's  horizon.  I  care  not  for 
pompous  argument,  and  flowery  speech,  that  would  attempt  to  con- 
vince one  by  its  mighty  utterances,  when  the  glimpse  of  such  a 
scene  as  the  one  I  represent  is  before  one's  very  eyes.  Surely 
such  a  scene  as  this  produces  a  quietness,  peace,  and  serenity  of 
mind  that  no  argument  can  prove  false,  and  no  philosophy  can 
shake.  It  is  in  itself  at  once  the  reality  of  both  argument  and 
philosophy,  and  presents  to  us  an  end,  which,  having  reached,  calms 
our  fears  and  bids  us  drink  and  live  :  drink  in  the  beauties  already 
fading  with  a  falling  sun,  and  live  in  newness  of  revived  hope  to 
return  home  with  a  satisfaction  such  as  no  mere  sermon  could  give. 

From  Red  Bay  we  retraced  our  steps  along  the  coast,  calling  at 
various  places  on  the  shore.  I  will  try  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the 
coast  about  here.  From  Saddle  Island  (Red  Bay)  to  Carrol's  Cove 
is  five  miles.  Carrol's  Cove  is  a  sort  of  carpenter's  square  attach- 
ment of  the  main  coast,  which  here  consists  of  high  cliffs  and 
hilltops.  It  is  low  and  scarcely  above  the  sea  level  at  high  tide. 
The  extremity  points  in  an  easterly  direction  ;  the  shores  everywhere 
are  narrow  strips  of  pebbly  beach ;  while  the  point  itself  consists 
almost  entirely  of  rocks.  The  bend  in  the  land  forms  a  sort  of 
harbor  that,  in  mild  weather,  is  not  an  altogether  bad  one.  Here 
some  eight  families  live  in  about  as  many  houses.  Many  of  them 
are  quite  intelligent,  and  some  of  them  have  sons  or  daughters  that 
are  now  residing  in  different  portions  of  the  states,  and  I  was 
often  accosted  with  the  question  of,  "  Do  you  know  my  son  living 
in  such  and  such  a  place  ?  " 

We  soon  passed  from  Carrol's  Cove  to  Eastern  Modest  a 
distance  of  four  miles  where  eight  families  reside ;  thence  to 
Pirouette  River,  three  miles  and  a  half,  where  there  are  five  fam- 
ilies (this  place  is  also  called  Black  Bay  and  the  river  at  the  head 
of  the  bay  Black  River)  ;  thence  to  Western  Modest,  nearly  three 
miles  farther,  where  seventeen  families  live ;  still  farther  up  the 
coast  to  Cape  Diable,  about  opposite  which  is  Capsan  Island,  one 
and  one-half  miles,  where  there  are  five  families ;  into  Diable  bay, 
or  L'Anse  Diable  which  is,  perhaps,  some  two  and  a  third  miles 


246  CENSUS  — FOWLS. 


farther,  where  there  reside  seven  families.  We  continued  our 
journey  three  and  one-half  miles  to  L'Anse  Loup  where  we  found 
eight  families  residing ;  from  the  bottom  of  L'Anse  Loup  Bay  to 
Schooner  Cove,  the  property  of  a  merchant  from  Newfoundland  a 
Mr.  Watson  by  name,  the  distance  is  a  mile  and  three  quarters ; 
and  from  here  to  the  lighthouse,  at  Point  Amour,  two  and  one- 
half  miles  farther.  We  did  not  anchor  at  either  Capsan  Island  or 
L'xA.nse  Diable,  since  there  is  no  good  ground  to  anchor  there,  and 
vessels  generally  remain  either  farther  up  or  down  the  coast,  while 
the  travel  is  in  small  boats  between  these  two  places.  Thus  from 
Red  Bay  to  Point  Amour,  a  distance  of  about  twenty-six  miles, 
following  a  straight  line  from  settlement  to  settlement,  there  live 
about  eight  families  and  four  hundred  people. 

The  census  from  Pt.  Amour  to  Blanc  Sablon  could  be  estimated 
in  about  the  same  proportion,  while  the  latter  place  is  perhaps  the 
largest,  with  its  surroundings  of  Wood  and  Greenley  Island,  east 
of  Esquimaux  Point  and  Natashquan.  Strange  as  it  may  appear, 
nearly  every  family  of  this  httle  colony  keeps  fowls  and  domestic  ani- 
mals, and  it  is  no  unusual  sight  to  see  thirty  or  forty  of  the  former 
running  about  the  settlements,  the  hens  picking  for  food  here  and 
there,  and  the  cocks  crowing  continually.  We  were  able  to  pur- 
chase about  eight  or  ten  dozen  fresh  eggs  for  the  nominal  price  of 
a  shilling  (twenty  cents)  a  dozen.  We  would  willingly  have  paid 
twice  that  amount. 

I  will  not  stop  to  describe  all  the  scenes  along  the  coast  here, 
but  will  simply  say  that  some  of  the  places  were  gems  of  loveliness. 
Some  were  backed  by  tablelands  of  sandstone,  others  were  pecu- 
liar formations  of  granite.  Most  of  these  places  we  had  only  time 
to  see  from  our  vessel  as  we  passed  by  them,  yet  they  presented  a 
panorama  of  loveliness.  When  opposite  Pirouette  I  could  plainly 
hear  the  pipings  of  the  marsh  frogs  in  the  swamps  of  the  river 
beyond,  and  have  no  doubt  but  that,  as  one  of  the  inhabitants 
told  me,  they  are  very  common  there.  Several  of  these  places  ap- 
pear to  have  a  formation  much  different  from  that  of  the  country 
around  them,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  most  interesting  results 


THE  BATTERY  AND  RED  CLIFFS :    THEIR  DANGERS.      247 

would  be  obtained  by  careful  study  both  of  the  fauna  and  flora, 
as  well  as  of  the  geology  of  the  region. 

Thursday  night  we  reached  L'Anse  Loup,  passing  the  Battery  as 
it  is  called  and  Red  Cliffs.  The  Battery  consists  of  a  plateau  with 
perpendicular,  stratified  cliffs  in  front,  about  three  hundred  feet  high, 
though  I  did  not  go  ashore  to  measure  it  exactly.  It  forms  a  most 
striking,  and  grandly  beautiful  feature  of  the  surrounding  scenery. 
I  am  informed  that  in  winter  it  hangs  with  masses  of  icicles,  that, 
from  the  strata  of  colored  rock  and  soil  back  of  it,  forms  most  beau- 
tiful and  almost  dazzling  reflections  of  colors  of  all  sorts  and  plays. 
It  must  truly  be  a  grand  sight  to  see  this  huge  mass  of  rock  show- 
ing forth  crystals  of  water  in  such  mingled  brilliancy. 

A  path  runs  below  the  overhanging  cliffs,  narrow,  but  distinct 
even  at  high  tide.  In  winter,  when  blocked  with  snow,  the  people 
are  forced  to  scale  the  height  and  travel  with  great  difliculty  over 
instead  of  beneath  this  platform  of  rock.  Though  travelling  below 
is  much  more  dangerous,  the  danger  is  generally  laughed  at,  and 
the  space  crossed  as  quickly  as  possible.  Several  very  narrow  es- 
capes from  serious  accident  have  been  recorded  here.  At  one 
time  a  huge  rock,  of  several  tons  weight,  fell  directly  between  the 
dogs  and  the  komatik,  as  the  sledge  was  hurrying  along  at  its  ut- 
most speed  ;  no  one  was  injured,  though  all  were  very  badly  fright- 
ened. At  another  time  a  sledful  of  several  young  ladies  had  just 
passed  one  of  the  most  dangerous  parts  of  the  road  when  a  shower 
of  rocks  fell  behind  and  between  them  and  the  next  komatik  which 
was  but  a  short  distance  behind,  yet  nobody  was  injured.  Soon 
we  had  passed  this  place  and  were  snugly  anchored  in  L'Anse  Loup 
Bay  for  the  night.  The  morning  gave  us  a  good  view  of  the  bay, 
which  is  a  simple  indenture  of  the  coast,  about  as  deep  as  it  is 
wide,  and  nearly  a  mile  and  a  half  in  either  direction.  The  eastern 
and  western  sides  are  ridges  of  hills,  while  their  slopes  are  rather 
pretty  and  picturesque.  A  small  stream  enters  the  foot  of  the  bay, 
wide  but  shallow ;  while  west  of  this  is  a  huge,  low  ridge  of  rocks, 
and  farther  west  still  a  beach  of  pure,  clear  sand.  The  extension 
of  country  beyond  appeared  as  if  it  might  once  have  been  a  part  of 
this  same  extension  of  bay,  as  it  no  doubt  was. 


248  FORTEAU  BAY. 


Forteau  Bay  is  very  similar  to  Loup  bay.  It  is  about  twice  as 
deep,  and  more  triangular  in  shape,  while  the  eastern  extremity 
bends  inward  much  like  an  inverted  comma,  giving  the  appearance 
almost  of  a  second  bay  infringing  upon  the  first.  The  eastern  side 
seems  to  have  been  formed  by  the  washing  away  of  the  limestone 
ridges  which  are  here  several  hundred  feet  high,  and  extending  far 
back  into  the  country.  The  western  side  is  principally  of  limestone 
which  recedes  to  the  top  of  the  cHffs  beyond,  at  a  height  of  about 
four  hundred  feet.  The  bottom  of  the  bay  is  mostly  a  sandy  beach, 
except  where  occasional  outcrops  of  rock  appear.  There  is  a 
small  stream  here  also,  as  in  nearly  every  bay  along  the  coast,  that 
seems  to  drain  the  remains  of  some  former  extension  of  this  same 
bay,  from  the  low  and  extended  valley  beyond.  I  noticed  particu- 
larly the  cliffs  on  the  eastern  side,  which  reached  almost  to  the  sea, 
and  were  nearly  perpendicular ;  whose  stratifications  were  apparent 
even  from  our  vessel,  and  whose  uneven  fractures  presented  the 
appearance  of  ruined  towers  or  castles  and  temples.  I  plucked 
several  sweet-scented  spring  flowers ;  and  saw  with  pleasure  signs 
of  the  springing  into  new  life  of  evergreen  as  well  as  alders,  shrubs 
and  closely  clustered  vegetation  everywhere  abundant. 

Our  stay  here  was  short,  however,  and  a  fair  breeze  soon  brought 
us  again  to  Greenley  Island.     I  will  describe  it. 

Greenley  Island  is  a  low  island,  scarcely  seventy  feet,  at  most, 
above  the  sea  level.  The  northern  part  is  short  and  wide,  the 
southern  point  long  and  blunt.  Several  rising  hillocks  mark  the 
centre  of  the  island ;  from  these  the  land  slopes  on  one  side  close 
to  the  sea,  on  the  other  to  the  western  portions  of  the  island  which 
are  covered  with  rocks  and  bowlders  as  if  once  the  terminal  mo- 
raines of  a  glacier,  yet  much  waterworn  ;  while  the  water  beyond  is 
clear  and  sandy.  On  the  east,  and  I  think  also  the  north  side  of  the 
island  is  sand ;  on  the  southwest  the  rocks  extend  but  a  little  distance 
into  the  water,  while  on  the  east  point  is  an  immense  flat  table  of 
rock,  seamed,  scarred,  and  rounded  by  the  water,  which  covers  it 
at  low  tide.  This  is  a  curiously  formed  ledge  of  granite,  and  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  broken  excepting  by  the  scars  of  time  and 
water,  yet  it  appears  to  form  the  underwork  of  this  part  of  the  island. 


GREENLEY  ISLAND.  249 


Upon  the  island  is  an  occasional  outcropping,  apparently  of  this 
same  rock,  though  for  the  most  part  the  ground  is  soft  grassy  and 
mossy  muck,  with  occasional  fresh  water  ponds.  Here  and  there 
are  strewn  angular  blocks  of  coarse,  poor,  grayish-yellow  granite, 
quite  different  from  the  predominant  rocks  on  the  island.  These 
are  more  or  less  square  in  outline  and  varying  in  size  from  two  to 
five  feet.  The  tops  are  flat,  and  the  edges  all  clean  cut,  and  hardly 
if  at  all  water- worn,  being  distinct  from  the  worn  edges  of  the  bowl- 
ders, which  were  common  near  to  the  water's  edge.  These  blocks  I 
have  mentioned  are  scattered  at  irregular  distances  all  over  the 
southwest  portion  of  the  island,  being  more  abundant  near  the  table 
rock  before  mentioned,  and  west  of  the  lighthouse.  All  the  beach 
on  that  side  of  the  island  which  faces  Wood  Island  is  sand,  while 
the  high  point  here  seaward  is  mostly  of  the  same  origin  so  far  as  I 
could  ascertain. 

The  lighthouse  is  situated  on  the  southern  extremity  of  the  island. 
It  is  an  octagonal  wooden  structure,  marked  like  stone  or  brick,  and 
painted  white  upon  the  outside.  The  apparatus  for  illumination 
consists  of  an  iron  framework  fastened  to  an  upright  revolving  rod, 
that  moves  by  a  simple  arrangement  of  wheels ;  one  of  these  is 
heavily  weighted  while  a  handle  is  furnished  for  winding  the  weight 
and  keeping  the  apparatus  in  motion.  Another  small  upright  rod 
with  an  upright  screw  attached  keeps  in  motion  a  patent  governor, 
for  regulating  the  time  of  each  revolution.  This  governor  is  a 
crossbar,  on  each  end  of  which  is  a  sort  of  fan,  of  brass,  which 
turns  in  a  perpendicular  or  horizontal  direction  to  indicate  slow  or 
fast.  Ordinarily  the  governor  turns  one  hundred  and  twenty  times 
in  a  minute,  and  the  lamps  are  four  minutes  in  making  a  complete 
revolution.  The  speed  is  regulated  by  government  authority.  The 
top  of  the  tower  has  twelve  large,  double  plate  glass  windows,  each 
a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick.  The  lights  are  twelve,  arranged  to  shine 
as  four,  three  being  white  and  one  red,  which  flash  as  they  revolve 
at  given  intervals  far  out  to  sea,  warning  the  sailors  that  the  coast 
is  nigh. 

We  were  very  cordially  received  and  shown  around  by  the  light- 


250  OFF  ST.  MARY  ISLAND  —  CORMORANTS. 

keeper,  who,  being  a  French  gentleman,  however,  understood  very 
httle  EngKsh.  There  is  here  also  a  fog  gun,  fired  every  half  hour 
in  foggy  weather.  That,  with  the  five  minute  steam  whistle  at 
Point  Amour,  near  by,  renders  it  quite  lively  here  at  times,  and 
furnishes  much  amusement  to  the  natives,  especially  those,  who, 
coming  from  a  distance,  hear  these  things  for  the  first  time. 

Monday  the  23rd.  At  last  we  have  a  breeze,  and  hoisting  full  sail 
we  are  soon  sliding  through  the  water  at  the  rate  of  about  six  miles 
an  hour.     By  night  we  are  far  on  our  way  to  the  westward. 

Tuesday  the  24th.  Though  the  wind  has  slackened  a  Httle  it  still 
holds  good.  The  air  about  us  is  perfection  itself,  so  clear  and 
bracing  is  it.  At  eight  o'clock  we  were  just  off  the  St.  Mary  Islands, 
having  gone  about  eighty  miles  in  twelve  hours,  and,  counting  the 
curvature  of  the  coast,  a  full  hundred  and  sixty  in  the  last  twenty- 
four  ;  and  yet  on  we  go,  —  dashing  through  the  water.  We  pass 
Shag  rocks,  a  long  row  of  bare  rocks,  without  vegetation  of  any 
kind,  where  the  cormorants,  or  shags  as  they  are  here  called,  breed 
in  large  numbers  upon  the  ledges  of  bare  rock ;  they  use  their 
own  guano  deposits  for  a  nest.  There  are  two  species  of  cormo- 
rants here,  the  common  cormorant  {Graculus  carbo),  and  the 
double  crested  cormorant  ( G.  dilophus) ;  both  are  called  shags, 
but  the  latter  are  generally  designated  by  the  Indian  name  which 
is,  if  I  am  informed  correctly,  Wapitougan.  Both  species  breed 
equally  abundant  apparently.  I  have  seen  thousands  at  a  time 
lining  the  rocks.  They  sit  upright,  in  rows,  upon  the  edges  of  the 
rocks,  and  seldom  one  sits  behind  another,  so  that,  to  accommodate 
them,  every  edge  of  each  crag  presents  a  trimming  of  cormorants  ; 
a  lively  looking  trimming  just  as  some  shot  is  fired  that  sends' all 
into  the  air.  The  eggs  are  two  to  three,  and,  though  really  bluish 
white  in  color,  are  invariably  covered  with  a  calcareous  deposit 
that  renders  them  exceedingly  chalk-like  in  appearance. 

At  a  distance  these  rocks  present  the  appearance  of  being  cov- 
ered with  snow,  but  a  nearer  approach  shows  that  this  is  a  covering 
of  guano  from  the  continual  droppings  of  the  birds ;  while  the  tops 
of  the  rocks  are  thickly  embedded  with  an  accumulation  of  guano 


NATASHQUAN  —  SPRING  BIRDS.  251 

from  the  same  cause,  firmly  stamped  down  with  the  continual  pat- 
tering of  numberless  feet. 

Tuesday  the  25th.  We  anchored  off  Natashquan.  Here  we  ob- 
tained a  bundle  of  newspapers,  mostly  Harpers'  Weekly,  the  first 
we  had  seen  for  nearly  seven  months.  Natashquan  point  is  a  little 
better  than  a  sand  bank,  with  an  overgrowth  of  low  spruce  and  fir 
trees,  and  but  a  poor  attempt  at  vegetation.  At  its  extremity  are 
placed  the  houses  of  one  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  posts, 
and  one  or  two  native  huts,  while  on  a  small  island  opposite  is  a 
very  neat  house  belonging  to  a  trader,  who  passes  the  greater  part 
of  his  time  between  this  place  and  the  neighboring  shores  and 
Quebec  trading  along  shore.  The  water  all  about  the  point  is  very 
shoal  with  dangerous  sandbanks  in  every  direction.  I  saw  the  hulk 
of  a  vessel  of  about  eighty  tons,  that  several  days  before  had  run 
aground  here ;  it  had  become  stuck  fast  in  the  sand  and  was  now 
a  total  wreck.  A  few  miles  almost  direct  east  takes  us  to  the  mouth 
of  the  river  where  the  settlement  is.  The  harbor,  even  here,  is  full 
of  sunken  ledges,  most  of  which  appear  only  at  low  tide.  Vessels 
cannot  approach  near  the  shore  even  here,  since  the  sandbanks 
again  interfere,  and  the  water  is  quite  shallow  even  at  high  tide.  A 
little  distance  above  this  is  another  river,  and  the  intervening  space 
is  a  picturesque  httle  peninsula,  of  coarse  and  fine  granite  of  feld- 
spar, over  which  a  scanty  vegetation  forms  a  groundwork  with 
dwarf  spruce  and  fir  trees  extending  far  back  into  the  country. 

In  the  bushes,  just  back  of  the  few  houses  that  line  the  stream,  I 
saw  large  numbers  of  birds.  The  white  throated  sparrows  sang 
their  well  known  pea-body,  pea-body,  pea-body,  prefaced  by  their 
usual  whistle,  from  nearly  every  prominent  tree-top,  while  I  amused 
myself  for  nearly  an  hour  watching  the  robins  as  they  flew  or 
hopped  about  on  the  lawn,  or  in  and  out  the  wood-pile  and  other 
debris  in  front  of  the  houses,  enjoying  the  bright  sun  which 
shone  down,  warm  and  gladdening,  upon  the  ground  just  springing 
into  greenness  again,  wet  with  the  moisture  of  melting  snow.  I  saw 
quite  a  number  of  other  birds,  and  recognized  the  white  crowned 
sparrow,  and  also  a  shy  Maryland  yellow-throat    {Geothfypis  iri- 


252  GLACIAL  MARKS  — THE  "  RUSSINGEL." 

chas) ,  who  appeared  several  times,  for  my  express  benefit,  I  sup- 
pose, in  plain  sight,  before  finally  disappearing  into  the  underbrush 
at  the  right.    The  remainder  of  the  forenoon  was  spent  in  examining 
the  glacial  rounded  rocks,  on  which  I  found  several  well  defined 
scratches,  and  in  following  the  stream  for  a  short  distance  to  the 
meadows,  or  low  marshy  districts  just  beyond  the  houses  ;  walking 
all  the  way  on  shelving  rocks  that,  nearly  level  with  both  meadow 
and  stream,  sloped  off  in  large  platforms  into  the  water.    This  river, 
I  am  told,  is  navigable  only  for  small  boats,  and  for  only  two  miles 
from  its  mouth,  though  I  believe  that  the  Indians  travel  somewhat 
farther  in  their  canoes.     As  the  people  living  here  were  mostly 
French  I  could  glean  but  little  from  them.     The  harbor,  however, 
is  a  mass  of  shoals  even  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  whose  eastern 
bank  is  sand,  while  the  bed  of  the  stream  partakes  somewhat  of 
the  character  of  the  harbor,  as  far  as  I  saw  it,  at  least.    I  here  heard 
the  Canadian  "russingel,  "  full  of  most  tuneful  melody  for  which  it 
is  so  noted  throughout  Canada.     On  the  right  bank  of  the  river, 
and  bordering  the  beach,  are  quite  a  number  of  houses,  while  a 
small  island  near  by  contains  a  cluster  of  as  many  more  ;  altogether 
quite  a  settlement  for  this  region.     One  large  fishing  establishment 
has  about  forty  boats  and  two  hundred  hands  engaged  in  the  fish- 
eries, during  their  season  ;  while  there  is  a  postoffice  which  receives 
mails  to  and  from  Quebec,  Bonne  Esperance,  and  the  South  Shore 
by  packet,  via  Gaspe,  touching  at  Anticosti,  between  which  latter 
places  a  submarine  cable  has  been  recently  laid,  to  give  warning 
of  the  shipwrecks  which  are  so  constantly  occurring  on  this  island. 
Saturday  the  28th.     It  was  to-day,  if  I  remember  right,  that  we 
experienced  the  first  of  the  two  noted  dark  days  of  188 1.    We  were 
about  half-way  between  Natashquan,  the  point  we  had  just  left,  and 
Mingan,  a  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  to  which  we  were 
bound.    Early  in  the  morning  the  wind  left  us,  and  soon  the  atmos- 
phere was  clouded  over  with  a  dull  murky  and  yellowish  smoke- 
colored  light,  that  almost  hid  the  sun.     We  could  only  see  a  faint 
light  spot  where  that  luminary  was  protesting  unsuccessfully  against 
such  an  infringement  of  its  illuminating  powers.    By  eleven  o'clock 


DARK  DAY  — WHALES.  253 

the  sky  was  like  the  lurid  smoke  of  a  furnace,  and  about  as  yellow, 
the  air  was  so  heavy  as  scarcely  to  be  breathed,  while  the  sailors  all 
turned  at  once  to  Mother  Shipton's  prophecy,  and  believed,  for  sure, 
that  the  end  of  the  world  was  about  to  approach.  I  afterwards 
learned  that  as  far  down  the  Gulf  as  Bonne  Esperance,  and  even 
at  L'Anse  Loup,  the  lamps  were  lighted  at  various  times  from  eleven 
in  the  morning  until  four  in  the  afternoon,  while  nearly  all  along 
the  coast,  some  part  of  the  day  presented  for  a  short  time,  an  ap- 
pearance nearly  as  black  as  night.  I  will  mention  another  circum- 
stance and  its  interpretation  by  the  captain  and  crew  that  appeared 
most  striking.  As  we  drifted  along  we  passed  successively,  long 
waves  of  a  fine,  yellowish  dust  powder  that  lay  upon  the  surface  of 
the  water  often  so  thickly  as  to  cover  acres  of  water  at  a  time.  It 
looked  precisely  like  a  deposit  of  sulphur.  Part  of  those  spoken  to 
on  the  subject  declared  that  it  was  a  deposit  from  the  smoke  of 
several  forest  fires,  which  we  aftenvards  know  to  have  raged  on 
Anticosti,  as  well  as  several  places  on  the  mainland.  I  believe  they 
said  that  they  had  seen  something  like  it  before  —  at  least  it  did  not 
particularly  surprise  them  ;  while  another  class  declared  that  it  was 
the  dust  or  rather  pollen  from  the  innumerable  alders  that  line  the 
banks  of  the  rivers  all  about  the  coast.  The  extent  of  these  patches 
was  remarkable,  whichever  explanation  was  true.  The  patches 
were  often  over  a  mile  in  length,  while  we  passed  over  many  acres 
of  it  before  leaving  it. 

Several  whales  had  played  near  us  during  the  night,  and  when 
first  seen,  the  ridges  were  declared  oil  from  the  whale  blowings, — 
which,  often  indeed,  cover  the  water  for  miles ;  but  during  the 
night  all  passed  off,  and  in  the  morning  we  had  passed  Esquimaux 
point,  a  Roman  Catholic  sealing  settlement  of  about  one  hundred 
and  sixty  houses,  and  soon  reached  Mingan,  a  most  beautiful  little 
harbor  of  clustered  islands,  where  the  varied  figures  of  the  tide 
ripple  in  the  shallow  water  are  one  of  the  most  remarkable  displays 
of  the  kind  along  the  coast. 


254  IN  SIGHT  OF  MINGAN. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


Mingan  and  surroundings  —  Hudson's  Bay  Companies'  buildings  —  Mingan 
River — Indians  of  this  region;  their  habits,  religion,  etc.  —  "Montag- 
nais"  and  "Nascopies"  —  The  Indian  trade  at  the  various  places  along 
the  north  shore  —  Romaine  or  Olomanosheebo  —  Natashquan  again  — 
French  steamer  and  salmon  freezing  —  Jewelry  peddler  —  Agwanus,  Na- 
bisippi  —  Terns  and  gulls  —  Codfish  "  schooling  "  —  Esquimaux  Point  — 
Indian  names,  etc. :  St.  Genevieve  Island,  Watcheeshoo,  Manicouagan, 
Saddle  Hill,  Mt.  St.  John,  Washatnagunashka  Bay,  Mushkoniatawee, 
Pashasheeboo,  Peashtebai  —  Shooting  at  the  Fox  Islands  —  Mutton  Bay, 
Great  Mecattina  Islands  —  Old  Fort  Island  again  at  last. 


I  can  well  remember  the  morning  when  our  little  schooner  headed 
for  the  well  sheltered  harbor  of  Mingan.  We  had  started  from  Es- 
quimaux Point,  off  which  place  the  vessel  had  been  anchored  during 
the  night,  about  nine  o'clock,  and,  passing  the  point  with  its  low 
extension  of  sand  beach  and  its  one  hundred  and  sixty  houses, — 
some  of  which  were  of  quite  unique  pattern  and  pleasing  outward 
appearance, —  had  fallen  in  with  a  light  breeze  which  took  us  along 
right  merrily  through  the  tide  ripples  and  shallow  waters  between 
the  long  chain  of  islands  seaward,  and  the  mainland  on  our  right. 
Early  in  the  afternoon  we  sighted  a  long,  low  point  of  land  in  the 
distant  horizon,  where  a  small  white  dot  was  plainly  visible,  repre- 
senting the  buildings  of  the  estabhshment  toward  which  we  were 
fast  approaching,  and  which  was  our  destination.  There  are  times 
when  the  motion  of  a  contrary  tide  against  the  sides  of  a  vessel  ap- 
pears to  show  that  one  is  fast  gaining,  when  in  reality  losing  ground ; 
there  are  also  times  when  such  a  tide  is  in  the  vessel's  favor,  and  a 
swift,  yet  almost  imperceptible  motion,  carries  her  on  at  a  rate  of 
five,  six,  or  even  more  miles  an  hour.  At  times  our  vessel  had  each 
of  these  motions,  now  going  swiftly,  now  slowly,  as  the  case  might 


"TIDE  RIP"— MINGAN  HARBOR.  255 

be,  while  the  low  and  sandy,  or  the  high  and  cliff-like  sides  of  the 
neighboring  islands  grew  nearer  and  nearer,  to  fall  slowly  behind  us 
and  grow  dim  in  the  distance,  as  the  point  toward  which  we  were 
aiming  grew  each  moment  plainer  and  plainer. 

We  were  between  the  mainland  and  a  few  low  islands  on  our  left, 
when  suddenly  we  struck  a  most  remarkable  "  tide  rip,"  as  it  is 
called.  The  rippling  of  the  water,  with  low,  even  lappings,  sending 
forth  music  like  the  laugh  of  "Laughing  Water,"  extended  all  around 
and  about  us,  a  mile  at  least  in  each  direction.  Cross  currents 
made  long  furrows  here,  while  there,  broad  sheets  presented  the 
same  even  ripple  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  On  through  this 
charming  and  fascinating  little  place  we  slowly  glided,  as  we  hstened 
to  the  merry  waters  and  feasted  our  eyes  on  the  playful  ripples, 
watching  our  sure  approach  to  the  harbor  now  so  near  us.  Flocks 
of  ducks,  hurrying  to  and  fro,  passed  us  on  our  right  and  left,  while 
gulls  and  other  birds  sported  around  and  above  us,  or  floated  on 
the  surface  of  the  water,  often  a  few  rods  only  from  the  bow  of  our 
vessel  as  we  glided  along.  At  last  we  reached  harbor,  and  were 
soon  safely  anchored. 

Mingan  harbor  is  a  narrow  but  deep  stretch  of  water  open  to  the 
sea  on  the  east  and  west,  with  the  mainland  on  the  north,  and  Min- 
gan Island  on  the  south.  Of  Mingan  Island  I  can  say  little  ;  it  is  a 
low  piece  of  land,  long  and  narrow  with  a  foundation  of  sand  which 
is  visible  here  and  there  along  its  surface.  The  main  body  of  the 
island  seems  to  be  composed  of  a  series  of  rocks  deposited  in  layers 
one  above  the  other,  and  forming  low,  irregularly  faced  cliffs,  with 
slate-like  cleavage  and  fracture,  which  are  nearly  or  quite  perpen- 
dicular in  outHne.  The  upper  surface  of  this  mass  bends  in  various 
directions,  while  its  height  is  twenty  to  forty  feet  above  the  sea. 
Low,  stunted  firs  abound  everywhere,  so  that  the  island  forms  a  not 
unattractive  sight  in  this  really  romantic  little  spot. 

On  the  mainland,  or  Mingan  proper,  contrary  to  what  might  be 
expected  from  the  appearance  of  the  island  opposite,  an  entirely 
different  formation  exists.  Nowhere  along  the  coast,  for  a  consid- 
erable distance  at  least,  does  a  rock  of  any  size  appear,  either  in 


256  THE  NEIGHBORING  COAST  LINE. 

place  or  loose  as  bowlder,  stone,  or  pebble.  Strange  to  say,  as  will 
be  shown  further  on,  the  rocky  precipices,  or  rather  steps  of  the 
rapids  in  Mingan  river,  some  three  miles  from  its  mouth,  seem  to 
be  the  first  indications  of  rock  formation  in  this  locality,  while  these 
are  simply  the  eastern  and  southeastern  boundary  of  a  tremendous 
mass  of  high  rocky  ground  that  extends  inland  for  miles,  perhaps 
thousands  of  miles. 

The  coast  and  its  beach,  as  the  whole  country  to  the  rocks  inland, 
is  everywhere  low  and  sandy.  On  the  beach  itself  the  sand  is  dense 
and  very  fine.  Farther  in  shore  there  is  a  very  scant,  occasional 
streak  of  low  vegetation  where  are  pastured  a  few  heads  of  cattle 
and  goats  that  graze  on  the  lawns,  here  and  there,  where  they  can 
find  food.  A  few  acres  of  good  grass  are  fenced  in,  and  this  sup- 
plies an  excellent  feed  for  the  animals  during  the  winter,  which 
here  is  neither  so  long  nor  so  severe  as  is  usually  the  case  farther 
north,  at  Bonne  Esperance  even.  From  Mingan  west  to  Long 
Point,  a  distance  of  about  six  miles,  this  low  sand  beach  extends 
almost  without  a  single  rock,  I  believe,  while  the  east  beach  is  en- 
tirely of  sand.  The  river  itself  passes  through  a  ridge  of  this  same 
material  which  forms  a  high  bank  on  the  left  and  a  low  one  on  the 
right,  as  one  passes  inland,  while  the  whole  land  rises  directly  from 
the  sea  then  falls  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  and  the  trend  of 
greatest  height,  here,  as  nearly  everywhere  along  this  part  of  the 
coast,  is  in  a  northwesterly  direction.  In  the  background,  the  dis- 
tant hills  rise  to  a  height  of  at  least  a  thousand  feet,  while  dim  out- 
lines of  others,  of  perhaps  greater  height,  appear  in  the  horizon. 
This  is  the  picture  whose  charming  outline  at  once  attracts  and 
captivates  one  upon  entering  the  harbor  of  this  sequestered  little 
spot.  Exhilarated  by  the  sharp,  fresh  air  we  land,  and  soon  count 
our  trout  from  the  waters  where  few  but  the  Indians  have  preceded 
us. 

Mingan  has  been  for  many  years  a  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  Thither  the  Indians  from  the  interior  resort  to  sell  their 
furs,  for  which  they  receive  in  exchange  provision,  clothing,  ammu- 
nition, and  those  useful  articles  of  which  they  may  be  in  need. 


MINGAN:  ITS  ATTRACTIONS.  257 

Mingan  is  situated  about  three  hundred  and  sixty  miles  from  Que- 
bec, in  a  straight  line,  while  it  is  only  twenty-five  miles  from  the 
opposite  shore  of  Anticosti  and  is  a  little  east  of  a  point  opposite 
the  extreme  southwestern  portion  of  that  island.  The  attractions 
of  the  place  are  only  its  fishing  and  the  houses  of  the  company's 
post  with  that  of  the  Guai'd  depeche.  From  your  position  on  board 
your  little  vessel  in  the  harbor,  you  can  see  them  all ;  the  long 
plank  walk  with  the  net  shop  at  its  eastern  extremity  has  near  it 
the  officers'  house  with  a  cosy  little  office  close  by ;  farther  down 
are  the  storehouses,  wherein  are  the  provisions,  clothing  and  such 
like  stores  with  which  the  general  trading  of  the  establishment  is 
done,  while  bundles  of  fine  fur  hang  suspended  from  cross  bars  and 
nails  in  the  lofts  above.  Just  around  the  bend,  the  walk  continues 
to  an  old  unused  wharf  where  it  terminates ;  being  a  distance  of 
one-tenth  of  a  mile.  I  say  one-tenth  of  a  mile, —  many  is  the  time 
that  this  plank  walk  has  been  paced,  while  sauntering  for  pleasure 
or  to  pass  the  time  away,  undoubtedly  by  each  individual  dweller 
of  this  establishment.  A  few  barns  or  outbuildings,  of  one  sort  or 
another,  placed  here  or  there  as  the  case  may  be,  complete  that 
portion  of  the  post  which  has  been  built  up  to  the  present  time. 
Most  of  these  buildings  have  been  tastily  painted,  thus  presenting 
a  neat  and  attractive  picture  to  one  viewing  it  from  the  vessel  in 
the  harbor,  or  the  de'ck  of  the  little  steamer,  that,  plying  between 
here  and  Quebec,  touches  all  the  important  points  along  the  coast 
for  a  distance  of  some  few  hundred  miles.  If  you  visit  this  charm- 
ing little  spot,  you  are  sure  of  a  cordial  reception  from  the  gentle- 
manly officers  of  the  post,  who  are  only  too  pleased  to  welcome 
strangers  amongst  them.  '    , 

If  there  is  plenty  of  time  at  your  disposal,  hire,  for  a  small  amount, 
a  guide  and  canoe  and  make  a  day's  trip  up  the  river.  The  Min- 
gan river  flows  in  a  west  varying  to  southeasterly  direction,  and 
enters  the  Gulf  not  far  from  the  Romaine  river  which  flows  from 
nearly  a  contrary  direction.  At  the  mouth  of  both  rivers  are  shal- 
lows and  accumulations  filling  the  water  with  ridges  that  control 
strongly  the  current  at  this  point.  These  sand  bars  are  constantly 
17 


258  TRIP  UP  MINGAN  RIVER. 

shifting,  while  in  places  they  have  overrun  each  other  and  piled  up 
small  islands  of  sand  which  becoming  overgrown  with  grass  or  scant 
vegetation  have  become  the  nesting  places  of  gulls  and  ducks,  thus 
supplying  the  people  with  birds  and  eggs  in  large  numbers  when- 
ever they  are  desired.  Following  up  the  river  you  will  find  sand 
and  sand  banks  on  either  hand,"  and  extending,  with  scant  vegeta- 
tion, far  inland.  Soon  we  approach  the  rapids,  where  the  river 
widens  into  a  baylike  expansion  of  water  bounded  everywhere  by 
granite  cliffs,  which,  rising  to  a  height  of  three  hundred  feet  extend 
in  undulating  billows  of  uneven  height,  far  towards  the  dim  out- 
lines of  the  hills  beyond,  while  tangled  vegetation,  and  bowlders 
and  loose  rock  lie  mingled  in  confusion  on  all  sides. 

In  front  of  the  rapids,  and  just  before  reaching  them,  we  came 
to  a  partial  clearing,  on  our  right,  in  the  dense  mass  of  fir  and 
spruce  trees  here  grown  so  closely  together,  where  a  party  of  pleas- 
ure seekers  from  "the  States"  had  built  a  "cabin"  which  they 
used  as  a  rendezvous  during  the  summer  sporting  season.  The 
rapids,  directly  opposite  this  charming  spot,  consist  of  a  body  of 
water  pouring  over  a  series  of  rocky  ridges  running  from  shore  to 
shore,  and  which  form  a  regular  pair  of  steps  of  fifteen  to  twenty 
feet  in  height.  The  opening  of  the  river  is  between  perpendicular 
walls  of  granite  which  have  apparently  been  worn  down  and  crum- 
bled away  by  time  and  the  water  so  constantly  dashing  and  splash- 
ing over  it  in  its  path  to  the  ocean.  Above  the  rapids  the  stream 
is  narrow  but  deep. 

To  the  left  of  these  rapids  formerly  existed  a  narrow  pathway 
which,  ascending  to  the  height  above,  led  to  a  position  whence  the 
descent  to  the  river  again  was  comparatively  easy.  This  path  was 
once  much  used  by  the  Indians  who  sought  the  interior  of  the 
country  by  this  route,  but  it  has  long  since  been  discontinued.  I 
ascended  this  path  with  the  guide  for  nearly  two  miles,  but  the 
walking  was  so  difficult,  the  pathway  often  so  obscure,  and  the  whole 
surface  of  the  plateau  exhibiting  such  a  sameness  of  general 
feature  that  we  soon  gave  it  up  as  a  bad  job  and  returned  with 
difficulty  the  way  we  had  come.    I  found  in  the  rocks  several  small 


INDIANS  OF  THIS  REGION.  259 

veins  of  magnetic  iron,  and  also  of  lead,  while  a  few  sheets  of 
mica  several  inches  in  either  direction  were  also  picked  up,  but  the 
nature  of  the  formation  precludes  the  probabihty  of  finding  much 
of  value  in  the  mineral  line  either  here  or  anywhere  else  upon  the 
coast. 

The  Mingan  river,  like  many  if  not  most  of  the  other  rivers  along 
the  coast,  extends  inland  about  twenty  miles  when  it  reaches  a 
pond;  it  is  then  connected  by  a  series  of  ponds  to  some  lake 
whose  altitude  usually  exceeds  that  of  the  surrounding  country,  and 
whose  waters,  descending  in  a  contrary  direction,  form  gradually  a 
second  river  which  flows  to  the  sea  by  a  similarly  circuitous  route  to 
that  of  its  congener. 

We  descended  the  river  much  more  rapidly  than  we  had  ascended 
it,  the  current  being  very  swift  in  places,  and  the  wind  also  being  in 
our  favor.  From  the  shore  we  could  see  the  summit  of  Mt.  St. 
John's,  lying  some  fifteen  miles  inland  in  a  northwesterly  direction, 
which  mountain  is  said  to  be  a  little  over  fourteen  hundred  feet  in 
height.  Directly  inland  the  country  is  said  to  rise  in  successsive 
steppes  —  if  one  might  use  the  word  in  this  connection,  —  to  what 
is  termed  the  "  height  of  land,  "  some  five  hundred  miles  inland, 
where  a  chain  of  mountains, 'peculiar  to  the  whole  lower  St.  Law- 
rence region,  and  northern  Quebec,  with  peaks  varying  from  one 
to  three  thousand  feet  in  height,  continues  in  an  eastern  trend  to- 
wards the  sea,  which  it  reaches  at  the  extremity  of  the  Labrador 
peninsula,  near  Ivucktoke,  or  Hamilton  Inlet. 

I  had  intended  saying  something  further  here  upon  the  subject 
of  the  Indians  themselves,  of  this  locaHty,  but  they  do  not  differ 
greatly  from  those  of  the  whole  coast,  and  all  agree  in  the  same 
general  characteristics.  Mingan  is  the  camping  ground,  so  to  speak, 
for  all  of  this  class  of  people  for  several  hundred  miles  of  coast  and 
as  many  inland.  Their  chapel  or  church  is  also  situated  here,  and 
weekly  worship  is  conducted  by  their  chief,  except  at  such  times 
as  their  priest  makes  them  a  special  visit. 

The  reHgion  of  the  Indians  seems  to  be  of  a  sort  of  Roman 
Catholic  order.     I  am  told  that  it  is  quite  similar  to  that  of  the 


260  RELIGION  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

French  Canadian  Roman  Catholics,  though  having  a  distinct  In- 
dian characteristic  which  marks  it  at  once  as  pecuhar  to  that  class 
of  people.  Their  church,  at  Mingan,  is  a  low,  wooden  affair,  very 
plain,  and  with  only  the  necessary  paraphernalia  connected  with 
their  worship  within  it.  Outside  and  near  to  is  the  burying  ground, 
and  above  each  tomb,  —  at  least  the  majority  of  them  —  a  simple 
cross  of  stained  wood  marked  the  head,  the  size  of  the  cross  being 
the  sign  of  the  importance  of  the  individual  in  his  tribe  and  village. 
Back  from  the  burying  ground,  and  some  distance  in  the  neighbor- 
ing woods,  was  a  large  cross,  and  a  bower  of  fir  boughs  a  little  dis- 
tance from  it,  representing  some  further  ceremonies  in  their  mystic 
religion.  Here,  I  am  informed,  the  people  go  to  bow  and  rever- 
ence the  cross,  and  to  dance  or  weep  within  the  bower,  as  the 
occasion  may  require.  With  regard  to  the  Indian  religion,  Mr. 
Butler  says  : — 

"  The  worship  of  the  Indians  at  Mingan  is  in  accordance  with 
the  teachings  of  the  Romish  church,  I  imagine.  I  have  never  heard 
of  any  separate  form  of  their  own.  The  cross  and  bower  you  speak 
of  are,  I  believe,  a  sort  of  memorial  or  votive  shrine.  There  is  a  story 
connected  with  it  but  I  have  forgotten  what  it  is. "  Mr.  Butler 
has  thus  touched  upon  a  genuine  relic  which,  could  it  be  recalled, 
would  probably  interest  every  intelligent  reader  in  the  United  States 
and  abroad.  He  further  says :  "  I  suppose  their  religious  ideas, 
apart  from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  are  very  vague.  "  Much 
to  my  annoyance,  the  attendance  of  strangers  was  forbidden  rather 
than  bidden  to  these  their  mystic  rites,  and  I  was  unable  to  observe 
them  at  their  worship,  although  their  priest  visited  them  and  per- 
formed services  while  I  was  there. 

The  respect  shown  by  the  Indians  to  their  dead  results  in  a 
species  of  religious  superstition,  peculiar,  perhaps,  to  all  communi- 
ties of  their  race  and  color,  that  the  bodies  of  their  dead  friends 
must,  at  all  hazards,  be  protected  from  anything  that  would  defile, 
or  in  any  way  injure  them,  while  any  relative  of  the  deceased  re- 
mains alive.  They  regard  their  burying  ground  their  final  home, 
and  even  from  far  distant  camping  grounds  they  are  said  to  send 


HABITS  OF  LABRADOR  INDIANS.  261 

delegations  on  long  trips,  both  in  summer  and  winter,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  sure  that  intruders  have  not  disturbed  the  re- 
mains of  their  friends. 

Although  for  the  most  part,  these  Indians,  both  as  a  tribe  and  as 
individuals  composing  it,  are  quiet  and  peaceably  disposed 
creatures,  on  no  occasion,  probably,  would  one  of  them  kill  a 
white  man,  or  one  of  another  tribe,  more  quickly  than  if  in  any 
way  interfering  with  the  bodies  or  burial  places  of  any  of  their 
tribe.  Socially,  the  Indians  are  quiet  and  peaceable,  if  treated 
with  respect  and  kindness,  though  they  are  quick  to  take  offence 
at  one  who  attempts  to  "  bully  "  them  or  infringe  upon  their  rights. 

Of  the  Indians  of  Labrador  I  will  now  say  a  few  words.  There 
are  two  principal  tribes  of  Indians,  not  counting  the  Esquimaux 
of  the  extreme  northern  portion  of  the  plateau,  who  inhabit  this 
region :  the  Montagnais  who  inhabit  the  coast,  especially  of  the 
river  and  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  Nascopies  who  dwell 
principally  inland  and  whose  visits  to  the  seashore  are  periodical 
and  chiefly  to  secure  supplies  by  selling  their  furs  and  obtaining 
credit  on  their  probable  winter's  catch.  Of  the  origin  of  these 
tribes  it  is  not  necessary  to  enter  here  into  any  discussion.  The 
Montagnais  are  probably  a  part  of  the  Algonquin,  and  the  Nasco- 
pies are  undoubtedly  a  sub-branch  of  the  same  stock. 

The  "  Montagnards,"  or  "  Montagnets,"  or  "  Montagnais  "  are 
found  in  abundance  chiefly  along  the  shores  of  the  lower  St.  Law- 
rence, and  they  extend  more  or  less  abundantly  from  Quebec, 
even,  as  far  as  Mingan,  v/hile  stragglers  occur  even  farther  down 
the  coast.  Tadousac  was  formerly  a  great  trading  post  of  theirs 
in  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  even  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century  when  Jacques  Cartier  visited  this  region  these  Indi- 
ans flourished  and  were  friendly,  as  they  always  have  been,  to  the 
French  colonists.  The  Montagnais  were  always  active  in  war,  and 
not  so  retired  as  their  neighbors  of  the  interior.  From  their  resi- 
dence on  the  coast  we  hear  more  of  them  and  their  exploits  as  we 
also  know  them  better.  The  Montagnais  were  one  of  the  first 
Indian  tribes  to   subscribe   to   Christianity,  though   nothing   has 


262  NASCOPIES  AND  OTHER  TRIBES. 

induced  them  to  give  up  their  nomadic  existence  and  settle  perma- 
nently on  reservations  which  have  been  offered  by  government. 
They  showed  aversion  to  agriculture,  and  preferred  to  live  in  idleness 
rather  than  to  cultivate  the  soil,  though  many  of  their  neighbors 
of  other  tribes  reared  five  plantations  of  maize.  They  were  early 
beset  with  Jesuit  missionaries  who  labored  in  vain  to  civihze  them. 
Perhaps  no  one  thing  tended  to  demoralize  the  Indians  then,  as 
now,  more  than  the  traffic  in  spirituous  liquors,  which  was  every- 
where encouraged  rather  than  discouraged. 

The  "  Ounadcapis,"  "  Ounascapis,"  "  Naskapis,"  "  Naspapees," 
"Nascopi,"  "  Naskupi,"  or  "  Nasquapee,"  as  they  have  been 
variously  called,  formed  at  that  period  a  distinct  people  inhabiting 
the  territory  lying  north  of  Lake  St.  Johns  and  extending  towards 
Hudson's  Bay.  In  a  communication  from  Mr.  J.  H.  Trumbull,  of 
Hartford,  Ct.,  regarding  this  tribe  he  says  :  "  They  speak  a  dialect 
of  the  Cree  language,  nearly  like,  but  not  identical  with,  that  of 
the  Montagnais  Indians,  of  the  same  stock.  The  word  "  Nascopi  " 
is  properly  the  name  for  an  "  Indian  man"  (/.  e.,  vir)  in  their 
dialect,  and  that,  in  all  Algonquin  languages,  the  name  for  "  man  " 
and  the  verb  "  to  stand  erect "  are  nearly  related."  In  about  the 
year  1674  the  Nascopies  came  in  great  numbers  to  Tadousac  and 
intermarried  with  the  Montagnais,  though  since  then  the  tribes  in 
general  have  been  hardly  distinct,  yet  a  few  of  each  race  still 
retain  the  peculiarities  of  their  tribe,  so  that  there  are  still  direct 
descendants  from  the  pure  stock.  In  relation  to  the  name  Nascopi, 
I  found  it  in  common  use  all  along  the  coast  for  a  pile  or  heap 
of  stones  thrown  up  into  some  form  several  feet  in  height  and 
usually  placed  on  top  of  an  island  or  neighboring  height  to  mark 
some  position,  or  important  spot  or  event.  These  heaps  occur 
everywhere,  and  are  known,  as  I  have  said,  by  the  name  "  Nascopi," 
by  the  natives,  also  "  American  Man  "  by  the  sailors.  They  are 
common  everywhere.  The  name  does  not  occur  in  any  of  our  local 
dictionaries  or  encyclopedias  that  I  can  ascertain. 

The  Indians  traded  with  the  French  as  early  as  1504,  both 
Basques  and  Normans  frequenting  their  chief  post  at  Tadousac  for 


MONT AGNAIS  —  INDIAN  STATIONS.  263 

this  purpose.  In  1871  a  census  of  the  Montagnais  Indians  along 
the  north  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence  resulted  in  1,685  >  there  being 
190  at  Seven  Islands,  552  at  Bersamis,  and  560  at  Mingan  alone. 
For  the  Labrador  division  exclusively  there  were  1,309.  In  1877 
the  Nascopies  of  the  lower  St.  Lawrence  numbered  2,860,  though 
doubtless  through  error,  1,860  would  have  probably  reached  nearer 
the  truth  if  indeed  there  were  so  many  as  that.  In  that  same  year 
(1871)  there  were  estimated  in  Labrador  and  Quebec  to  be  2,500 
Nascopies,  and  1,745  Montagnais.  Since  that  time  the  number  of 
families  have  constantly  diminished.  Some  have  renounced  their 
trading  and  trapping  voyages  and  settled  in  comfortable  cabins  and 
are  turning  their  attention  to  farming  and  the  raising  of  such  crops 
as  potatoes,  turnips,  oats,  etc.,  and  secure  about  enough  hay  to 
feed  a  few  head  of  cattle  during  the  winter,  but  the  traders  are 
fast  undoing  what  has  been  done,  and  sell  them  goods  as  well  as 
liquor  largely  on  the  credit  principle  so  that,  so  to  speak,  they  are 
demoralized  almost  as  fast  as,  if  not  faster  than,  they  are  moralized. 
Godbout  river  was  formerly  a  great  Indian  station  and  gathering 
place  ;  not  more  than  a  dozen  families  now  reside  there,  and  they 
only  in  the  summer  time.  Farther  down  the  river,  at  Seven  Islands, 
about  five  times  that  number  gather  in  the  summer,  descending  by 
the  Moisie  river,  and  strive  to  recuperate  from  the  half  famished 
condition  in  which  scarcity,  of  provisions  in  the  winter  time  has 
left  them.  Moisie  itself,  at  one  time  quite  a  rendezvous  for  these 
families,  is  now  almost  deserted  for  this  place  (Seven  Islands). 
Mingan,  now  the  favorite  resort  of  this  tribe,  is  a  good  location  for 
their  wants.  It  has  been  previously  described.  The  Indians  meet 
here  in  the  summer,  and  have  a  general  resting  time.  Many  of 
them,  if  the  season's  "  catch  "  has  been  good,  buy  them  boats  and 
barges  for  $80  to  ^150  and  make  hunting  excursions  both  up  and 
down  the  coast,  or  to  the  island  of  Anticosti  thirty  miles  distant 
across  the  channel.  In  the  year  1878  there  were  about  80  families 
and  375  people,  young  and  old,  stationed  here  for  the  summer. 
The  year  I  was  at  Mingan  there  were  about  the  same  number. 
Natashquan  is  another  station  of  these  Indians  during  the  summer 


264  INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS. 

here  being  a  post  of  the  Hudson's  bay  company  here  also, 
though  at  the  extreme  point  of  the  mainland  on  the  east  side  of  the 
channel.  Their  settlement  here  is  entirely  by  mishwaps  arranged 
for  temporary  accommodations  only  during  the  summer  months, 
and  rarely  more  than  fifty  families  and  two  hundred  people,  old  and 
young,  assemble  here  from  their  inland  excursions  to  sell  their  furs 
and  to  recuperate.  Musquarro,  though  formerly  a  great  Indian 
rendezvous,  has  now  become  deserted  for  Romaine  or  Olomano- 
sheebo,  which  is  really  a  most  delightful  and  picturesque  place, — 
at  least  so  it  seemed  to  me  as  we  entered  its  snug  and  quiet  harbor 
one  beautiful  evening,  and  viewed  it  with  the  lights  and  shadows  of 
the  sun's  last  rays  upon  it.  Romaine  river  is  now  a  great  highway 
for  the  Indians  who  visit  the  interior  or  those  who  descend  to  the 
seacoast. 

St.  Augustine,  about  thirty  miles  to  the  westward  of  Bonne  Esper- 
ance,  was  formerly  the  great  resort  of  the  Nascopie  Indians.  Here 
for  a  long  time  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  kept  a  flourishing  post, 
which  was  afterwards  deserted  by  them,  and  a  generous,  honest 
dweller  of  that  region  was  allowed  to  take  possession  of  it, 
who  now  suppKes  the  Indians  who  come  from  the  interior,  to  this, 
the  only  post  of  the  region,  for  a  distance  of  many  miles  in  either 
direction.  Many  of  the  Indians  wintering  here  came  directly 
across  the  country  even  from  Ungava?  and  the  shores  of  Hudson's 
Bay  itself.  About  1871  there  were  as  many  as  one  hundred  and 
twenty  families  of  Nascopies  at  this  place,  with  about  a  third  as 
many  Montagnais ;  the  two  elements  are  so  intermingled  now  that 
the  numbers  are  pretty  evenly  divided  between  the  two  tribes.  It 
has  been  said  of  the  Nascopies  in  general,  that  "although  intelligent 
they  are  yet  very  superstitious,  believe  in  dreams,  in  their  'jong- 
leurs,' or  medicine-men,"  etc.  Of  late  years  the  Indians  have  en- 
camped largely  in  the  islands  and  mainland  near  Bonne  Esperance 
where  Mr.  Whiteley  and  others  furnish  them  with  supplies  to  con- 
tinue their  hunting  and  trapping  in  the  interior  the  following  winter. 
There  are  thus  about  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  families,  and 
1,700  people  leading  a  nomadic  existence,  and  dwelling  about  and 


INDIAN  TRADE.  265 


around  the  various  resorts  and  islands  from  Quebec  to  Belle  Isle. 
These  Indians  are  seldom  if  ever  worth  over  a  few  hundred  dollars, 
their  furs  are  not  abundant,  they  themselves  being  thus  obliged  to 
eke  out  a  miserable  existence,  starving  to  death  in  the  winter  to 
procure  food  for  their  families,  and  secure  enough  furs  to  pay  for 
their  summer's  provisions,  at  which  season  they  are  usually  obliged 
to  glut  themselves  to  gain  sufficient  strength  to  pursue  their  hunt- 
ing the  next  winter,  else  they  would  surely  starve  and  die  in  the 
midst  of  plenty,  from  their  previous  winter's  want. 

Another  great  source  of  misery  to  the  Indians  is  credit.  This 
effectually  bars  them  from  enterprise,  and  prevents  their  advance- 
ment in  every  possible  respect.  They  cannot  consider  themselves 
free  when  once  they  have  become  involved  to  any  trader  or  dealer. 
The  uncertainty  of  their  business  makes  it  all  the  worse.  If  a  year 
comes  when  game  is  scarce,  and  little  fur  can  be  obtained,  they 
come  from  the  interior  disheartened,  for  who  will  give  them  pro- 
visions if  they  have  no  furs  ?  At  last  some  one  furnishes  them  with 
enough  provisions,  to  keep  them  from  starving,  on  credit  of  the  next 
winter's  "catch."  These  are  soon  eaten  up,  and  the  same  trader 
finds  himself  obliged,  to  save  himself,  to  fit  them  out  for  the  coming 
winter,  with  the  proviso  that  he  shall  be  paid  from  the  results  of 
that  catch.  The  Indians  are  obhged  to  promise  or  starve.  The 
next  year  is  a  poor  year  also.  The  Indians  take  little  fur,  and, 
knowing  that  if  they  go  to  the  trader  who  fitted  them  out  they  must 
give  him  all  they  have  with  no  prospect  of  any  return,  they  come 
to  some  other  part  of  the  coast,  and  try  the  same  experiment  with 
another  party;  thus  they  go  from  place  to  place,  leaving  debts 
wherever  they  go,  with  no  prospect  of  ever  paying  them,  and  the 
fear  that  soon  every  avenue  will  be  blocked  to  their  approach.  The 
traders,  equally  in  despair,  are  but  just  opening  their  eyes  to  the 
situation,  and  finding  the  only  solution  of  the  difficulty  in  a  com- 
promise in  which  each  side  shares. 

When  the  ice  breaks  up  in  the  spring,  usually  the  last  of  May, 
the  Indians  seek  the  coast  with  their  furs  to  trade  and  to  recuperate. 
Many  of  the  traders  practise  all  sorts  of  arts  whereby  to  deceive 


266  "BARTER  TRADE." 


the  Indians  both  as  to  the  quality  of  their  furs,  and  that  of  the  ar- 
ticles which  they  offer  in  exchange  for  them  ;  the  majority,  however, 
ask  only  a  fair  price  in  exchange  for  cash,  and  the  charges  seem  ex- 
orbitant only  as  the  proposed  credit  is  large  or  doubtful.  Flour 
is  generally  $7.00  to  ^9.00  a  barrel;  lard,  20  cents,  butter,  30  to  40 
cents, and  ship  biscuits,  10  cents  per  pound;  pork  a  barrel, ^25.00 
to  ^28.00;  cotton,  25  to  40  cents  per  yard;  molasses,  60  to  80 
cents  a  gallon.  In  exchange,  beaver  skin  is  worth  ^1.50  to  ^2.50 
a  pound,  martins  ^1.50  to  ^3.00  a  piece,  lynx,  ^1.50  to  $2,00, 
bear,  $5.00  to  ^7.50,  fox,  ^1.50,  silver  fox,  ^15.00  to  30.00,  cross 
fox,  $7.00  to  ^9.00,  and  mink  about  $1.00.  This  will  show  the 
general  average  of  the  trade,  varying  slightly  according  to  the 
season  all  along  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Labrador  peninsula. 

The  summer  visits  of  these  Indians  are  dreaded  by  all  fishermen. 
They  roam  at  will,  fishing  or  shooting,  visiting  salmon  and  seal  nets 
at  night,  and  stealing  the  "  catch  "  of  their  more  fortunate  white 
neighbors,  while  they  scare  away  all  species  of  game  and  render 
others  as  miserable  as  they  themselves  are,  till  fall  again  disperses 
them  towards  their  winter  hunting  grounds  in  the  interior  of  this 
wild,  bleak,  desolate  country.  In  1881  the  value  of  their  whole 
hunt  was  only  about  ^20,000.  The  same  year  their  numbers  all  told, 
from  Quebec  to  Belle  Isle,  were  about  11,000  young  and  old;  this 
was  probably  too  large  an  estimate  by  several  thousands.  One  can 
thus  see  that  the  Indian  population  of  this  region  is  anything  but 
an  easy  one  to  manage.  They  come  down  from  the  interior  in 
small  bands  to  the  various  places  named  above,  in  a  half  starved 
condition,  and  attempt  to  make  up  for  their  loss  in  hunting  and 
trapping,  by  begging  from  any  and  all  that  are  more  fortunate  than 
themselves,  and  by  obtaining  large  credit  from  the  traders.  The 
government  can  do  little  to  help  them.  If  one  year  it  sends  sup- 
plies, the  following  year  the  Indians  come  down  en  masse  to  their 
rendezvous  and  loaf  around  doing  nothing  to  earn  their  own  living, 
while  waiting  for  a  similar  shipment  from  the  government.  If  this 
comes  it  demorahzes  them  more  than  ever,  and  if  it  does  not  come 
they  have  then  lost  all  the  benefit  of  the  fishery,  where  they  might 


MODE  OF  LIFE  AND  DRESS.  267 

have  reaped  a  good  harvest.  A  few  of  them  are  furnished  with 
nets,  hooks,  and  hnes,  and  work  industriously  during  the  summer 
months.  The  soil,  at  the  places  where  they  remain  during  that 
season,  is  unfit  for  cultivation,  and  as  none  of  the  whites  attempt 
cultivation,  the  Indians  would  be  hardly  more  fortunate.  One 
year  the  government  sent  them  a  number  of  bushels  of  potatoes  to 
plant,  as  an  experiment.  The  Indians  cut  them  up  at  once,  and 
thanked  the  agent  for  being  so  good  as  to  send  them  supplies,  hop- 
ing that  they  would  send  more  the  next  year.  Hunger  has  re- 
duced them  as  a  tribe,  though  a  few  are  haughty  and  troublesome 
at  times.  It  is  impossible  to  civilize  them  to  any  great  extent, 
and  there  are  but  few  schools,  and  these  only  in  the  lower  prov- 
inces where  there  are  also  a  few  reservations. 

There  has  recently  been  appointed,  by  the  government,  an  In- 
dian agent  who  is  now  hard  at  work  trying  to  better  the  condition 
of  these  poor,  unfortunate  people,  and  make  it  possible  for  each 
family  to  become  sober  and  industrious  and  earn  its  own  living  in 
a  thrifty  way;  but  their  nature  rebels  against  most  all  treatment, 
and  they  prefer  the  nomadic  existence  of  their  fathers,  or  the  uncer- 
tainties of  the  chase,  and  are  delighted  to  roam  at  will  and  fish  the 
stream,  thus  gaining  an  uncertain  sort  of  existence  from  year  to 
year  until  at  last  they  disappear  and  are  heard  from  no  more. 
Disease  very  seldom  attacks  an  Indian.  Such  diseases  as  small- 
pox and  measles  are  the  most  prevalent, — for  the  former  they  are 
vaccinated  freely  by  the  government  agent  while  he  is  on  the  coast. 
The  aged  and  infirm  are  disposed  of  as  speedily  as  possible,  being 
left  to  starve  and  die  or  turned  off  upon  anybody  who  will  under- 
take to  care  for  them.  Often  in  the  summer  time  large  forest  fires 
occur,  but  these  are  rarely  caused  by  the  Indians,  as  many  seem 
to  think.  An  Indian  is  very  careful  on  this  point,  since  it  would 
be  a  great  offence  to  be  guilty  of  wilful  destruction  of  the  "  hunt- 
ing grounds." 

I  dare  not  say  much  concerning  the  dress  of  the  Indians.  They 
wear  anything  and  everything.  Old  garments  and  new  garments, 
thick  and  heavy,  brown,  white,  or  black ;  leather  or  sealskin  boots, 


2  68  LEAVING  MINGAN. 


rubber  boots  or  moccasins,  according  to  the  weather,  state  of  their 
purse  or  their  credit.  The  squaws  wear  cahco,  or  woollen  dresses 
of  any  shade,  quality  or  pattern,  and  a  peculiar,  long,  peaked  cap 
usually  of  red  flannel  cloth.  Dressed  deer-skin  waistcoats  are 
common  with  the  men  and  are  very  warm ;  moccasins  of  all  sorts 
and  shapes  are  made,  and  used  or  sold.  But  this  extraordinary 
race  demands  far  greater  attention  than  has  been  heretofore  given 
them,  or  that  can  possibly  be  contained  in  these  fragments  of  their 
history,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  government  which  has  so 
far  acted  judiciously  in  the  matter  will  be  able  to  do  some  perma- 
nent good  to  this  unfortunate  and  destitute  people. 

Wednesday,  the  8th.  We  left  Mingan,  on  our  return  trip,  yes- 
terday, with  a  good  wind  and  fair  sky,  and  to-day  we  made  Romaine 
river  or  Olomanosheebo  as  the  Indians  call  it,  another  now  de- 
serted post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  This  location,  Grand 
Romaine,  as  it  is  called,  has  recently  become  a  great  rendezvous 
of  the  Indians.  The  place  was  crowded.  There  must  have  been 
thirty  or  forty  families  camping  there,  just  on  the  eve  of  their  de- 
parture on  a  hunting  excursion,  so  that  we  were  too  late  to  visit 
them.  They  were  in  the  midst  of  a  celebration  of  some  grand  fete 
day,  and  were  saluting  their  priest,  who  had  just  arrived  to  conduct 
the  ceremonies  of  the  occasion.  They  continued  an  almost  unin- 
terrupted firing  of  guns  for  about  two  hours.  In  the  evening  all 
attended  service  ;  ten  minutes  after  every  Indian  had  left  the  place, 
and  it  was  as  still  and  deserted  as  if  no  one  had  ever  existed  there. 
Romaine  is  as  pretty  a  place  as  its  name  is  musical.  It  has  a  se- 
cluded yet  snug  appearance,  while  the  hills  form  a  sort  of  barrier 
within  which  the  natural  beauties  of  the  place  unfold  themselves. 
The  rocky  islets  on  the  outside  enclose  a  safe  harbor. 

Tuesday,  the  14th.  We  reached  Natashquan  to-day,  and  there 
found  letters  from  home  awaiting  us.  Here  we  found,  surrounded 
by  petty  traders,  a  large  French  steamer  that  was  coasting  the 
shore  for  fresh  salmon,  which,  first  undergoing  a  freezing  process, 
were  packed,  to  be  transported  to  the  French  coast  where  they 
are  retailed  at  a  large  profit.     The    captain   had  had  no  cause  to 


NATASHQUAN  AGAIN.  269 


complain  of  the  ^'  catch,"  and  all  the  men  were  hard  at  work  cu- 
ring and  packing  a  lot  of  splendid  large  fish  recently  brought  in  by- 
one  of  the  fishermen  from  a  short  distance  down  the  shore.  The 
captain  was  an  intelligent  and  excellent  appearing  fellow,  and 
extended  to  us  the  usual  courtesies,  for  which  the  French  generally 
are  so  well  noted,  when  he  found  we  were  Americans  and  strangers  ; 
and  I  should  do  him  injustice  did  I  not  make  particular  mention  of 
the  excellence  of  his  table,  to  which  he  cordially  invited  us,  and 
which  invitation  we  as  cordially  accepted.  After  dinner  we  were 
shown  all  over  the  steamer,  and  she  was  indeed  a  beauty.  She 
was  almost  new,  and  her  engines  in  perfect  trim,  while  all  her  ap- 
purtenances showed  the  signs  of  newness  and  solidity.  Her  tonnage 
was  a  httle  over  one  thousand.  Though  the  captain  showed  us 
everything  freely,  he  would  not  describe  to  us  the  new  freezing 
process  to  which  he  subjected  the  fish  he  preserved,  claiming  it  to 
be  a  new  invention  and  not  that  of  vaporization  of  ether  or  any 
kindred  process  in  use  at  the  present  time.  One  of  the  steamer's 
tug  boats  was  put  at  our  disposal  for  an  excursion  the  next  day, 
but  the  rain  deprived  us  of  this  very  great  anticipated  pleasure. 

Saturday  the  i8th.  Quite  an  excitement  was  caused  this  even- 
ing by  the  arrival  of  a  jewelry  peddler.  He  had  sold  a  large  quan- 
tity of  this  artificial  and  counterfeit  material,  and  now  was  eager  to 
get  away  from  the  village  by  the  quickest  possible  conveyance,  and 
I  cannot  wonder  if  a  sample  of  his  goods  that  came  under  my  eye 
is  a  fair  sample  of  all  of  which  he  disposed  to  this  honest-hearted 
community.  It  was  that  of  a  very  poorly  plated  ring  worth  about 
a  shilling  that  was  sold  for  ten  shillings.  The  young  fellow  who 
purchased  it  intended  it  for  his  young  lady,  but,  finding  that  it 
tarnished  the  first  night  his  rage  may  be  easily  imagined. 

At  Natashquan  we  obtained  a  fresh  supply  of  provisions,  and  a 
few  pounds  of  most  excellent  fresh  maple  sugar;  it  was  put 
up  in  square  cakes  of  five  pounds  each  and  sold  at  the  surprisingly 
cheap  price  of  ten  cents  a  pound. 

Our  next  stopping  place  was  at  Agwanus  river,  twelve  miles 
above  Natashquan  and  but  a  few  miles  below  Nabisippi,  which 


270  AGWANUS  —  NABISIPPI. 

latter  place  we  could  plainly  see  with  the  naked  eye.  Agwanus  is 
a  very  pretty  place.  A  beach  of  quite  pure  sand  is  crowned  by  a 
number  of  grass-plats  upon  which  several  houses  have  been  built 
while  the  whole  is  backed  by  the  cliffs  and  crags  of  the  neighboring 
hills.  We  sailed  by  a  number  of  small,  low  islands  or  rather  rocks, 
for  there  was  scarcely  any  vegetation  upon  them,  the  breeding 
place  of  innumerable  terns  (probably  Sterna  macrourd) ,  which 
fairly  swarmed  everywhere  we  went.  They  took  good  pains,  how- 
ever, to  keep  just  out  of  gun-shot,  so  that  we  did  not  procure  any 
of  them. 

It  was  dusk  when  we  passed  through  this  region,  and  as  we 
slowly  glided  along  the  channel  among  the  rocks,  we  watched  the 
beauties  of  the  scene.  Low  patches  of  green  topped  the  brown 
rocks,  and  were  set  off  by  the  display  of  the  darker  green  of  the 
spruces  farther  inland  and  the  shadows  on  the  still  darker  green  of 
the  cloud-shadowed  rocks  still  farther  away.  Soon  we  came  upon 
a  small  cabin,  snugly  tucked  away  in  a  sheltered  place  among  the 
rocks  near  the  shore.  Close  by  here  we  anchored,  while  at  our 
right  another  small  island  swarmed  with  gulls  and  terns  at  which 
we  practised  shooting  until  dusk.  This  place  we  learned  was 
Washtawooka  bay.  The  harbor  protected  us  perfectly  on  all  sides, 
and  here  we  anchored  for  the  night. 

Thursday,  the  21st.  Although  the  longest  day  of  the  year,  we 
to-day  made  our  shortest  run,  being  but  six  miles,  only  to  return 
to  Nabisippi,  another  now  deserted  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  for  the  night.  We  spent  part  of  the  time  lying  to  about 
a  mile  off  shore  and  shooting  at  the  gulls,  of  which  large  numbers 
surrounded  us.  It  was  the  species  known  as  Bonaparte's  gull 
( CJu'oecocephabis  Philadelphia)  which  abounds  about  the  shoal 
waters  and  fishing  grounds  everywhere  along  this  part  of  the  coast. 
We  saw  here  a  most  beautiful  but  rare  sight, —  it  consisted  of 
large  body  of  codfish  "schooling,  "as  it  is  called,  in  reahty  playing, 
upon  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  water  would  be  covered  for 
acres  with  the  heads  or  bodies  of  these  fish  as  they  dashed  madly 
about  or  scooted  forward  on  the  surface  of  the  sea,  often  in  per- 


RETURN  TRIP  — INDIAN  VILLAGES.  271 

feet  line  and  in  perfect  time.  Again  tliey  would  disappear  as  sud- 
denly as  they  appeared.  I  have  seen  them  at  times  leap  several 
inches  clear  of  the  water.  Again  they  would  form  in  long  ranks  and 
rush  through  the  water  with  such  velocity  as  to  make  it  actually  hiss 
as  it  closed  behind  them.  Sometimes  they  would  suddenly  dis- 
appear and  again  as  suddenly  appear  headed  in  some  other  direction 
and  proceed  with  their  "  playing  "  as  before.  They  often  sport  in 
this  way  for  hours,  appearing  in  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands, 
and  then  disappear  as  suddenly  as  they  came  not  to  be  seen  again 
during  the  season.  At  this,  the  "  old  salts  "  say  "  they  have  taken 
to  deep  water  again." 

Wednesday,  the  23d.  We  started  off  early  this  morning  with  a 
fine  breeze,  on  our  return  trip.  (We  had  visited,  but  did  not  stay 
long,  at  the  Roman  Catholic  settlement  of  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty  houses,  at  Esquimaux  Point,  about  twenty  miles  east  of  Min- 
gan.  I  simply  mention  the  location  as  it  is  an  important  one  in 
sealing  industries,  though  otherwise  it  does  not,  I  believe,  attract 
particular  attention.)  Farther  to  the  eastward  the  small  island  of 
St.  Genevieve  (pronounced  here  genyurve)  forms  a  prominent 
landmark,  as  does  also  the  locality  of  Watcheeshoo  (pronounced 
watch-a-shoe)  which  is  near  Manicouagan  bay.  Close  by  is  Sad- 
dle hill,  the  highest  part  of  this  neighboring  coast,  being  about 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  above  the  sea,  and  about  sixty- 
five  miles  to  the  north  and  west  of  which  lies  Mt.  St.  John,  the 
highest  peak  on  the  North  Shore  at  this  point,  being  1614  feet 
high.  A  few  other  Indian  villages  were  passed,  such  as  Washatna- 
gunashka  bay,  or  Mushkoniatawee,  Pashasheebo,  as  also  Peash- 
tebai,  and  Appeeletat,  all  of  which  names,  strange  to  say,  really 
sound  quite  musical  when  pronounced  properly  by  one  acquainted 
with  their  Indian  sound. 

Friday,  the  24th.  We  lay  to,  awhile  this  morning,  off  the  Fox 
islands,  and  filled  several  pails  and  buckets  with  murres'  eggs 
{Lo??ivia  troile),  while  with  our  guns  we  shot  about  a  hundred  of 
these  birds  in  less  than  an  hour,  and  yet  we  left  them  flying  as 
thickly  over  and  by  the  island  as  when  we  had  first  landed.     We 


272 


GUNNING  — FORT  ISLAND  AGAIN. 


boiled  the  eggs  and  found  them  excellent  eating.  They  are  not 
quite  as  rich  in  flavor  as  hens'  eggs,  but  certainly  fully  equal  them 
in  quality.  With  this  addition  to  our  stock  of  provisions  we  had 
several  new  dishes,  among  them  a  most  delicious  rice  pudding. 
In  the  evening  we  passed  the  highlands  of  Meccatina,  nearly  six 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  and  also  those  of  Mutton  bay,  about 
seven  hundred  feet  high,  a  small  settlement  where  dwells  a  mission- 
ary who  ministers  to  the  people  on  this  part  of  the  coast;  and 
anchored  in  the  snug  harbor  of  Great  Meccatina,  where  we  lay  all 
night.  Here  we  again  saw  the  magnificent  comet,  we  had  occa- 
sionally seen  before,  in  a  northeast  by  north  direction,  and  appar- 
ently about  30°  above  the  horizon.  It  was  about  11  o'clock  p.  m. 
that  I  made  this  observation. 

In  the  morning  we  proceeded  eastward  with  a  fine  breeze.  As 
we  passed,  all  the  harbors  were  full  of  Newfoundland  fishing  vessels, 
many  of  them  from  Harbor  Grace.  Bale  des  Roches  was  filled 
so  full  that  we  could  scarce  obtain  anchorage.  I  found  on  many 
of  the  rocks  distinct  and  well  defined  glacial  scratches,  and  noted 
other  peculiarities  of  the  location.  We  remained  here  all  day  on  ac- 
count of  the  intense  fog  everywhere.  The  next  day  we  managed, 
after  beating  about  for  some  time,  to  reach  Old  Fort  island  again 
whence  we  had  started,  after  one  of  the  most  enjoyable  trips  I  ever 
experienced. 


AT  OLD  FORT  ONCE  MORE.  273 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


;UNIVEHSITY^ 


Affairs  at  Old  Fort  Island  —  The  fishing  season  —  Thunder  storm  —  Arrival 
of  vessel  which  is  to  take  us  home  —  Our  trip  in  her  to  L'Anse  Loup  and 
scenes  at  intervening  places — "Off  for  home"  —  Double  reefed  fore 
and  main  sails  —  Island  of  Anticosti  —  A  hurricane  —  Quebec  and 
home. 


Affairs  at  the  Island  had  not  changed  much  since  I  had  left  it, 
and  everything  moved  on  in  the  same  quiet,  well  ordered  style. 
There  had  been  an  arrival  which  pleased  the  children  greatly,  in  the 
shape  of  a  young  calf,  in  the  barn,  and  most  of  the  day  was  occu- 
pied by  them  in  watching  its  movements,  which  they  did  with  the 
greatest  of  interest,  reporting  hourly  at  the  house.  There  were 
three  children  in  the  family,  but  one  would  easily  have  imagined 
that  there  were  at  least  thirty,  by  the  succession  of  continual  ap- 
pearances and  as  sudden  disappearances  at  the  door,  as  each  came 
to  relate  the  dispatches  from  the  barn.  It,  however,  afforded  them 
occupation,  which  was  the  main  point. 

The  animals  about  the  place,  not  counting  in  the  dogs,  con- 
sisted of  a  bull,  a  cow  with  its  calf,  and  two  goats  —  one  of  which 
was  a  billy.  The  goat  furnished  milk  as  well  as  the  cow.  Many 
people  along  the  coast  keep  goats,  and  prefer  the  milk  for  the  chil- 
dren to  that  of  the  cow.  Both  the  billy  and  the  bull  were  turned 
loose  on  the  ground  with  simply  a  board  before  their  eyes,  and  one 
of  their  fore  feet  tied  to  a  rope  passing  around  the  horns.  In  this 
manner  all  roam  together :  dogs,  children,  animals  and  all. 

It  really  seemed  quite  refreshing  to  be  fed  once  more  on  good 
home-made  bread  and  butter,  to  drink  fresh,  rich,  creamy  milk,  and 
to  have  the  luxury  of  real  cream  in  one's  tea  and  coffee.  The  gun 
18 


274  AFFAIRS  AT  THE  ISLAND. 

Still  afforded  the  roast  duck  of  the  noon  or  evening  meal ;  and 
many  a  morning  have  I  been  out  before  breakfast  and  brought 
home  a  bag  literally  full  of  plover  and  beach  birds  for  the  meal. 
Good  cheer,  and  plenty  of  it,  was  never  wanting  now.  Soon  the 
men  began  to  trim  their  boats  for  the  fishing  season,  now  nearly 
upon  them,  and  all  around  us  was  activity  and  life.  A  curious  ex- 
ample of  how  everything  is  turned  to  use  occurred  recently.  There 
had  been  a  wreck  somewhere  off  the  coast,  and  several  dead  sheep 
had  been  picked  up  just  off  shore.  Of  these  the  skin  was  carefully 
saved,  the  tallow  melted  down  and  turned  into  homemade  candles, 
while  the  carcasses  were  salted  down  to  serve  as  food  for  the  dogs 
the  ensuing  winter.  The  candles  were,  to  be  sure,  a  rather  poor 
apology  for  such  articles,  and  their  wicking  simply  pieces  of  cotton 
cloth,  but  they  answered  every  purpose. 

The  fishing  season  was  now  well  advanced,  and  a  trip  to  Bonne 
Esperance  assured  me  that  the  people  generally  along  the  coast 
were  in  "great  humor"  over  the  unusually  large  "catch"  offish 
which  was  everywhere  reported ;  but  our  chief  delight  centred 
in  the  letters  and  papers  from  home  which  were  found  await- 
ing our  arrival,  and  glad  indeed  we  were  to  get  them.  In  the 
evening  we  were  treated  to  what  at  home  we  should  call  a  mild 
thunderstorm,  and  were  informed  that  it  was  "the  most  terrible  one 
that  had  ever  visited  the  coast.  "  Such  storms  are,  indeed,  quite 
rare  here,  and  there  is  seldom  even  what  we  should  call  a  "  hard 
rain.  "  The  next  day  the  sky  cleared  most  beautifully,  and  we 
had  one  of  the  finest  days  I  have  ever  seen  on  the  coast. 
In  the  evening  one  of  the  fishermen  brought  in  a  seventy-five 
pound  cod,  and  it  was  an  enormous  fellow,  the  largest  I  had  ever 
seen.  The  day  following,  as  it  was  warm  and  pleasant,  I  took  my 
first  and  last  plunge  bath  and  swim,  off  the  dock,  in  Labrador  water. 
It  is  safe  to  say,  that  in  those  five  minutes  there  must  have  been  a 
change  of  temperature  in  my  body  of  at  the  very  least  one  hundred 
degrees,  in  the  shade  at  that.     I  never  attempted  it  again. 

Thus  we  pass  away  the  time.  Day  follows  day  in  quick  succes- 
sion, while  all  is  pleasure  botli  within  and  without ;  but  all  pleasures 


TRIP  DOWN  THE  COAST.  275 

have  an  end,  and  too  soon  we  find  the  vessel  that  is  to  convey  us 
home  already  in  the  harbor  awaiting  us.  The  Captain  is  to  make 
a  two  weeks'  trip  "  down  along  "  visiting,  for  purposes  of  trade,  the 
various  places  over  which  we  had  been  before,  yet  we  preferred 
to  join  him,  and  so  by  evening  we  were  packed  and  "  all  aboard  " 
for  our  trip.  We  passed  Salmon  Bay,  everywhere  abounding  in 
glacial  evidences,  rounded  its  trough-like  hollow,  which  appeared 
as  if  gauged  out  from  the  land  toward  the  sea,  as  it  undoubtedly 
was,  and  noted  everywhere  its  peculiarities  and  attractions.  We 
visited  Blanc  Sablon  in  full  summer  activity,  and  saw,  even  now, 
early  August,  snow-clad  hills  in  the  distance  beyond  ;  while  nearer 
to  green  slopes  and  verdure  were  everywhere  scattered  by  Nature's 
profuse  hand. 

I  took  my  gun  and  started  toward  the  distant  hills,  I  climbed 
the  crests  close  to  the  beach,  and  at  the  head  of  the  bay.  They 
were  huge  sand  heaps  sparingly  grassed  over,  and  reaching  to  two 
hundred  or  more  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Again  huge  depressions, 
nearly  as  deep  as  the  hills  were  high,  lay  before  me.  These  ele- 
vated tablelands,  and  smooth  even  valleys  everywhere  intervening 
stretched  forward  and  inland  in  all  directions.  From  the  highest 
of  these  tabled  hills,  what  a  view  burst  upon  my  sight !  On  one 
side  a  long  extent  of  country  (apparently  rich  pasture  land  for  herds 
of  cattle,  though  we  searched  for  them  in  vain,  and  listened  in  vain 
for  the  tinkling  of  the  cowbell)  receded  to  the  hills  on  the  right, 
while  all  was  enveloped  in  dark  shadows  upon  the  green  ground- 
work from  the  hills  and  the  clouds.  The  whole  outline  of  the  pic- 
ture was  that  of  a  large  funnel ;  the  tube  extending  in  the  distance, 
and  the  mouth  occupied,  in  greater  part,  by  a  magnificent  large 
pond,  the  outlet  of  which,  draining  through  the  centre  of  the  tun- 
nel, followed  the  tube,  and,  lost  in  the  distance,  eventually  found 
its  way,  dashing  down  the  rocky  Bradore  heights,  into  the  sea. 

On  the  other  side  Blanc  Sablon  harbor  and  the  sea  beyond  came 
in  view.  To  the  west  were  Long  Point  and  L'Anse  Couteau,  while 
Wood  and  Greenley  islands  occupied  the  centre  of  the  picture,  and 
the  fishing  boats  (I  counted  two  hundred  or  more)  everywhere  dot- 


276  FORTEAU— INDIAN   IMPLEMENTS. 

ted  the  scene,  like  flies  upon  the  wall.  My  game  bag  was  empty 
upon  my  return  to  the  ship,  notwithstanding  several  large  flocks  of 
curlew  at  which  I  might  have  shot,  but  my  mind  was  filled  with  this 
glimpse  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  Nature's  pictures,  so  that  I 
minded  not  the  revilings  of  our  captain  at  sight  of  the  empty  bag. 

The  next  day  we  reached  Forteau.  A  walk  around  the  base  of 
the  hills  and  cliffs  on  the  northern  side  of  the  harbor,  through 
growth  of  tangled  spruce  and  fir  where  an  occasional  bluebell  or 
bed  of  Cornell  peered  at  us  from  some  sheltered  retreat,  brought  us 
to  the  house  of  a  pleasant  and  homely  family  who  cordially  wel- 
comed us.  The  following  day  I  took  a  short  walk  inland,  to  what 
are  here  called  "the  deserts,  "  which  are  elevations  and  depressions 
of  low  sand  dunes,  whose  summits  are  more  or  less  grassy.  They  are 
from  ten  to  fifty  feet  high,  with  corresponding  depressions  of  dry 
sand.  We  found  in  many  of  these  hollows  several  well  formed 
spear  and  arrow  heads,  and  could  have  picked  up  a  bushel  basket 
full  of  "  chips, "  which  were  everywhere  abundant.  The  story  is 
told,  that  when  the  Esquimaux  were  driven  from  this  part  of  the 
coast  by  the  mountain  Indians,  who  at  the  time  nearly  extermina- 
ted that  curious  race,  all  this  region  was  the  scene  of  the  Indian 
descent  to  the  plains  from  the  highlands,  hence  the  chief  place  of 
the  engagement  between  the  two  parties ;  here  the  Indians  made 
and  used  their  arrows  and  other  implements.  The  chippings  that 
we  found  were  mostly  of  a  white,  chalcedony-like  flint  rock,  not  at 
all  like  anything  that  we  could  find  along  the  coast,  but  said  to  be 
"  common  inland. "  A  few  quartz  and  ordinary  flint  pieces  were 
found,  but  they  were  comparatively  rare.  But  we  were  soon  forced 
to  leave  this  interesting  locality.  Returning  to  the  house  we  spent 
the  evening,  while  yet  light,  in  watching  the  feats  and  gambols  of 
one  of  the  young  dogs  as  it  leaped  into  the  water  from  a  pier  over 
fifteen  feet  in  height,  and  even  dove  for  stones  thrown  at  it  to  a 
depth  of  nearly  four  feet,  bringing  the  stones  to  the  surface  between 
and  over  its  fore  paws  ;  then,  as  the  evening  had  advanced,  we  re- 
turned to  the  house  and  retired  to  rest. 

The  next  morning  several  of  the  boys  joined  us  in  a  walk  across 


INLAND  POND  — OFF  FOR  HOME.  277 

the  limestone  ledge  above  the  house  to  Schooner  Cove,  a  small 
western  branch  of  L'Anse  Loup.  Here  one  of  the  Newfoundland 
merchants  has  a  well-to-do  fishing  establishment,  as  also  a  small 
storehouse  for  the  sale  of  supplies  for  this  part  of  the  coast ;  here 
we  were  to  meet  our  vessel  which  had  preceded  us  by  sea.  The 
walk  was  over  a  fertile  limestone  ridge  about  two  hundred  feet  high, 
where  still  further  evidences  of  glaciers  could  be  seen  about  us.  I 
found  the  dry  beds  of  several  ponds  as  I  walked,  and  in  one  place 
one  small  pond  still  existed.  It  was  situated  in  a  hollow  formed  in 
gradually  sloping  hillocks.  Considerable  vegetation  grew  around  it, 
and  it  was  altogether  quite  a  picturesque  spot.  Our  guide  then 
told  us  its  history.  He  said  that  the  water  of  the  pond  was  fresh, 
but  yet  so  deep  that  after  repeated  trials  no  one  had  ever  been 
able  to  reach  the  bottom  with  the  sounding  lead.  It  was  supposed 
to  have  an  underground  connection  with  the  sea ;  but,  he  further 
explained,  that  the  water  itself  was  not  salt  since  the  fresh  water, 
the  results  of  springs  and  drainage  was  lighter  than  the  salt  water, 
hence  would  and  did  not  mix  with  it.  At  times,  he  said,  the  sur- 
face was  agitated  with  heavy  waves,  and  covered  with  a  frothy  sub- 
stance like  that  which  the  sea  waves  cast  upon  the  beach.  The 
pond  appeared  to  be  about  seventy-five  feet  below  the  height  of 
the  surrounding  plateau  which  averaged  two  hundred  and  forty 
feet  above  the  sea  level. 

Saturday,  August  13th.  We  are  fairly  off  for  home,  I  mean  our 
United  States  home,  to-day,  having  left  our  farthest  point  north- 
east, and  started  towards  Quebec.  Oh,  what  beautiful  evenings  ! 
What  superb  weather  !  How  long  will  it  last  ?  Shall  we  ever 
visit  here  again  ?  These  were  the  exclamations  and  questions  that 
escaped  us  as  we  ploughed  on,  —  on  through  the  waters  towards 
home. 

Sunday  we  reached  Old  Fort  Island,  received  on  board  the  re- 
mainder of  our  luggage,  and  in  a  few  hours  were  off  again.  To- 
wards night  it  came  in  foggy,  and  in  the  morning  it  rained  quite 
hard.  In  this  state  of  the  atmosphere  we  missed  the  proper  entrance 
to  the  sea  that  we  should  have  taken,  and  passed  on  through  what  is 


278  INCIDENTS  OF  THE  TRIP  HOME. 

called  the  little  rigoulette,  at  the  bottom  of  which  enters  Kekarp- 
wei  River,  and  where  there  is  no  exit.  Never  shall  I  forget  the 
clearing  up  of  the  fog  and  the  disclosing  to  us  of  one  of  those 
charming  Labrador  scenes,  so  characteristic  of  the  locality ;  low 
shores,  sandy  beaches,  grassy  slopes  and  tops,  and  a  forest  of  low 
and  tall  spruce  and  fir,  intermingled  with  cliffs  and  rocks  every- 
where. The  passage  was  so  naiTOw  we  could  with  difficulty  haul 
the  ship  around  without  her  touching  the  boom  on  one  shore  and 
the  stern  on  the  other.  Narrow  and  shallow  as  the  passage  was, 
we  succeeded  at  last,  and  returned  to  the  opening  that  we  should 
have  taken  at  first  into  the  sea.  I  do  not  believe  that  there  was  a 
person,  however,  save  the  captain  and  the  crew,  who  regretted  the 
extra  time  spent  in  this  charming  region.  At  length  we  were  once 
mqre  out  to  sea,  and  right  merrily  we  sped  onward,  with  "  belle 
drise, "  as  the  captain  called  it,  towards  Quebec. 

In  passing  Whale  Head,  one  of  the  numerous  small  fishing  sta- 
tions on  this  part  of  the  coast,  we  found  a  small  sail-boat  of  Indians 
following  in  our  wake,  a  short  distance  off.  The  captain,  wishing 
to  send  a  letter  ashore,  produced  a  large  bottle,  placed  the  letter 
within,  carefully  corked  it  again,  and,  with  gestures  calling  the  at- 
tention of  the  Indians  to  himself,  threw  it  into  the  sea.  We 
watched  eagerly,  and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  Indians' 
boat  secure  the  bottle.  The  captain  assured  us  that  the  letter  would 
reach  its  destination,  and  that  messages  were  often  transported  in 
a  similar  manner  from  place  to  place,  when  a  favorable  wind  ren- 
dered it  impossible  to  stop  the  ship,  and  some  sail-boat  was  near 
to  pick  up  the  bottle. 

Night  soon  set  in,  and  with  it  the  breeze  freshened  so  that  soon  the 
order  was  given  to  reef  sails ;  this  was  succeeded  by  an  order 
to  double-reef  both  fore  and  main  sails  ;  and  on,  on  we  sped, — 
through  the  treacherous  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  towards  home,  the 
water  fairly  sissing  as  we  cleaved  it,  and  the  wind  fairly  hissing 
as  it  slid  from  our  sails.  I  think  our  Captain  told  us  that  we  had 
made  better  time,  in  a  given  time,  than  he  had  ever  made  before 
on  any  trip  ;  I  fully  believe  that  it  might  have  been  true.     Wednes- 


OFF  ANTICOSTI  — QUEBEC.  279 

day  morning  the  24th,  we  shook  the  reefs  from  our  sails,  and  in 
the  evening  were  anchored  off  Natashquan.  A  boat  carried  off 
the  mail  and  returned  with  the  up  mail,  and  we  were  again  mov- 
ing. By  evening  of  the  next  day  we  were  off  Anticosti  Island,  this 
scene  of  so  many  mournful  wrecks  and  disasters. 

The  sailors  about  this  part  of  the  coast  say  that  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence  ends  and  the  mouth  of  the  river  begins  just  off  the  west- 
ern end  of  this  Island.  Most  writers  make  the  dividing  part  at  the 
bend  farther  up  the  river ;  which  is  right  is  not  a  point  for  us  to 
settle.  Off  Anticosti  the  nearest  land  is  Mingan,  which  has  been 
so  fully  described.  On  the  south  shore  its  nearest  point  is  Cape 
Gaspe.  The  island  itself  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
long  by  thirty  wide.  It  is  well  wooded  in  portions  of  its  surface, 
though  it  is  generally  barren  and  uninhabited  save  by  a  few  bears 
and  other  wild  animals.  Very  little  and  very  poor  water  can  be 
found  upon  it,  while  the  two  government  lighthouses  upon  either 
extremity  alone  represent  the  life  of  the  island.  Indians  occasionally 
hunt  for  bears  and  procure  birch  bark  for  their  canoes  along  its 
shores  and  in  its  interior.  Upon  its  southern  side  are  dangerous 
reefs.  Heavy  gales  occur  frequently  near  by,  and  many  are  the 
tales  of  horror  told  of  wreck  and  disaster  upon  its  coast,  but  I 
hasten  on.  On  Wednesday  evening,  the  31st,  a  gale  struck  us. 
Fierce  and  heavy  it  blew.  Sharp  thunder  and  lightning  were  followed 
by  alternate  puffs  of  wind,  cold  and  hot  as  if  from  the  mouth  of  a 
furnace.  The  squall  fairly  turned  into  a  hurricane.  Before  we 
had  gone  to  rest  the  gale  subsided,  the  dark  clouds  gave  way,  the 
rain  ceased,  and  the  clear  evening  predicted  a  beautiful  day  for  the 
morrow.     The  morrow  arrived  :  it  found  us  once  more  at  Quebec. 


280  THIRD  TRIP  TO  LABRADOR. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Third  voyage;  summer  of  '82  —  Puffin-shooting  —  Dredging  —  Bad  weather 
—  Main  boom  breaks  —  Chateau  and  Temple  bays  —  Places  of  interest  — 
Mines  and  minerals  —  Aurora  and  phosphorescence  —  Icebergs  —  Fox 
harbor  —  Battle  island  —  Indians  and  Esquimaux  —  Indian  vocabulary  — 
Square  island  —  Dead  island — A  water  garden  —  Triangle  harbor  — 
Homeward  bound — Notes  on  Dutch  and  Esquimaux  settlements. 


I  HAVE  nowneared  the  end  of  my  explorations.  Yet,  strange  to  say, 
I  find  myself  once  more  embarked  upon  the  perilous  enterprise 
of  again  stemming  the  sea  and  stormy  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  for  a 
further  extension  of  my  researches  upon  the  Labrador  coast.  This 
time  I  start  from  Boston,  July  13,  1882,  in  a  small  schooner  of 
about  one  hundred  tons,  the  "  Polar  Star"  by  name,  with  a  party 
of  some  dozen  gentlemen,  young  and  old,  who,  with  me,  are  also 
bound  for  this  bleak  and  rocky,  yet  picturesque  coast.  The  party 
consists  of  ornithologists  and  mineralogists,  conchologists  and 
ichthyologists,  photographists  and  pleasurists.  All  in  an  ainateicr 
sense  however,  except  possibly  the  pleasurists,  and  they  might 
almost  be  said  to  outweigh  everything  else  and  form  the  main 
feature  of  the  party.  In  fact  it  was  a  pleasure  party  and  nothing 
else,  of  which  guns,  ammunition,  and  fishing  tackle  formed  the  chief 
topics  of  conversation  from  the  time  we  left  until  we  returned. 

I  will  not  stop  to  describe  our  journey  to  Halifax  where  we  pro- 
cured a  relay  of  supplies  for  our  voyage ;  or  of  our  stop  on  the 
Cape  Breton  shores,  at  several  points  of  interest ;  or  our  journey 
through  Canso  to  the  stormy  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  where,  after 
passing  the  famous  Bird  Rocks  near  the  Magdalene  Islands,  just 


A  GALE  —  MORAVIAN  SETTLEMENTS.  281 

east  of  Anticosti,  we  encountered  one  of  the  shortest  but  severest 
gales  that  the  captain  had  ever  met,  that  nearly  plunged  our  good 
ship  with  its  cargo  of  precious  souls  into  the  bosom  of  the  raging 
deep  ;  but  we  will  pass  at  once  to  the  sights  and  scenes  which  seem 
of  sufficient  importance  \o  induce  us  to  add  a  single  chapter  to  our 
already  quite  full  account  of  the  "men  and  things  "  seen  and  done 
upon  "  the  Labrador.  " 

And  now  I  find  that  we  go  over  a  great  deal  of  the  ground  al- 
ready gone  over  so  fully  and  often  at  great  length  in  our  previous 
pages.  Our  dozen  pleasure  seekers,  however,  gather  a  great  many 
new  facts,  yet  we  find  that  the  daily  life  of  the  native  inhabitants 
does  not  differ  essentially,  as  we  progress  east  and  north  along  the 
coast,  from  such  as  we  have  already  described  it  to  be.  The  houses 
grow  smaller  and  smaller  the  farther  north  we  go,  yet  the  same 
general  character  of  life  everywhere  prevails. 

The  time  at  our  command  for  the  voyage  is  limited,  yet  we  reach 
to  within  a  few  miles  of  Rigoulette,  the  chief  station  on  the  east 
coast,  if  we  except  some  of  the  Dutch  settlements  much  farther 
north,  and  the  mouth  of  the  only  river  of  importance  in  all  Labra- 
dor. Beyond  are  the  "  Dutch  settlements, "  the  headquarters  of 
the  Moravian  missionaries,  who  are  supported  in  their  work  chiefly 
by  the  Moravians  in  this  country  at  Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania. 
Their  headquarters  on  the  coast  are  at  Hopedale,  Nain,  Okkak, 
Port  Manvers,  Hebron,  and  possibly  even  at  Ungava  bay  itself, 
though  at  the  last  named  place  I  am  uncertain  whether  there  be  an 
established  station  or  not.  Situated  as  we  are,  then,  on  a  flying 
visit  much  farther  north  than  we  have  ever  been  before  in  this  most 
interesting  country,  with  litde  time  at  our  command  for  investiga- 
tion, and  with  so  many  avenues  open  through  which  to  procure 
facts  concerning  the  places  visited,  I  find  myself  compelled  to  as- 
sume the  diary  form  of  writing ;  and,  instead  of  a  systematic  ac- 
count of  each  place  as  we  visited  it,  and  an  arranging  of  facts 
always  in  their  proper  connection,  I  give  them  as  they  were  pro- 
cured, being  sure  that,  in  this  case  at  least,  it  is  by  far  the  better 
way,  and  will  give  more  satisfaction  in  the  end. 


282  PUFFIN-SHOOTING  — GALE  OFF  CHATEAU. 

Our  party  first  visited  Bonne  Esperance,  from  there  L'Anse 
Loup  and  Forteau ;  at  each  of  these  places  we  spent  some  time 
dredging  in  the  harbor,  and  filling  our  bottles  with  specimens  and 
our  cans  of  alcohol  with  fishes  and  other  marine  treasures.  When 
off  Blanc  Sablon,  we  lowered  a  boat  and  all  hands  went  for  a  hunt. 
Some  went  to  Pigeon  Island  and  some  the  next  morning  to  the  west 
end  of  Greenley  Island  :  the  puffins  were  as  abundant  as  when  des- 
cribed by  Dr.  Coues  earlier  in  our  pages.  We  had  no  difficulty  in 
killing  three  hundred  in  a  single  day,  and  could  have  procured  twice 
that  amount  without  the  least  trouble.  We  found  the  island  on  this 
end  Hterally  tunnelled  with  the  holes  of  this  bird,  and  the  appear- 
ance was  much  as  if  thousands  of  woodchucks  had  been  at  work 
burrowing  the  ground  ;  there  was  scarcely  a  square  yard  of  earth  that 
did  not  have  at  least  one  burrow  in  it  while  more  often  there  were 
twenty. 

We  lay  in  Forteau  and  L'Anse  Loup  harbors,  becalmed,  for 
nearly  two  weeks,  during  which  time  we  used  the  dredge  with  great 
success  and  brought  up  from  depths  varying  from  six  to  twenty 
fathoms  a  large  assortment  and  variety  of  marine  invertebrates, 
which  were  carefully  labelled  and  packed  away  to  be  sent  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institution  at  Washington.  The  waters  seemed  alive 
with  new  and  curious  forms,  however,  and  every  haul  of  the  dredge 
procured  something  that  we  had  not  before  obtained. 

I  shall  not  soon  forget  our  run  to  Chateau.  We  started  with  a 
fair  breeze  but  it  soon  became  so  fogg}^  that  we  could  not  see  where 
we  were  going.  AVe  reefed  sail  and  continued  to  beat  about  look- 
ing for  some  signs  of  the  harbor.  Suddenly  we  passed  some  fishing 
boats  but  as  suddenly  found  huge  rocks  looming  up  directly  in 
front  of  us.  A  shout  from  our  captain,  while  he  put  the  helm  hard 
to,  brought  the  vessel  around,  but  so  narrowly  did  we  escape  the 
rocks  that  as  we  jibbed  we  could  have  touched  them  with  an  oar. 
We  put  the  ship  about,  and  scud  for  the  open  sea.  The  waves  were 
lashed  to  fury  by  the  wind  which  blew  abaft  our  starboard  side  ;  yet, 
blowing  as  it  was  in  this  howling  tempest,  we  succeeded  in  signal- 
ling one  of  the  small  boats  for  a  pilot,  who  boarded  us  with  a  great 


SOME  DAMAGE  —  CHATEAU  AND  TEMPLE  BAY.  283 

deal  of  diffitulty,  and  again  putting  about  we  steered  for  the  harbor 
of  Chateau  or  rather  Temple  Bay,  which  is  the  true  harbor  at  this 
point,  but  we  did  not  part  with  the  gale  so  easily. 

•As  we  entered  the  narrow  passage  to  the  bay  our  captain  shouted 
to  take  down  sail,  but  the  pilot  countermanded  the  order ;  at  least, 
between  the  two  the  order  was  not  obeyed,  and,  as  we  were  run- 
ning with  the  wind  now  almost  dead  ahead,  though  a  little  on  our 
port,  suddenly  rounding  the  point  of  land  on  our  left  an  unusually 
terrific  squall  struck  us,  and  with  a  sound  like  thunder  our  main 
boom  snapped  like  a  pipe  stem.  Had  the  sailors  not  rushed  to  the 
ropes  and  instantly  taken  down  the  sail  it  would  have  been  blown 
to  threads  in  a  moment.  Our  jib  alone  was  now  sufficient  to  take 
us  to  the  safest  position  in  the  harbor,  where  we  soon  let  down  both 
anchors,  paying  out  nearly  all  the  chain  on  each.  Here  we  stayed 
in  imminent  peril  all  night  of  being  hurled  upon  the  rocks  the  other 
side  of  the  harbor,  not  forty  rods  away,  at  any  moment.  Thank 
Providence  our  good  ship  weathered  the  blast.  The  next  day  the 
sailors  spliced  the  boom  with  spruce  side  pieces  and  about  twenty 
fathom  of  a  nice  three-quarter  inch  manilla  dredge  rope  belongmg 
to  our  largest  dredge  ;  as  we  stayed  at  Temple  Bay  and  about  Cha- 
teau for  two  or  three  days,  owing  to  bad  weather,  I  will  try  to  des- 
cribe the  place. 

Chateau  Bay  is  a  small  bay  and  comprises  really  the  outer  en- 
trance only  of  a  much  larger  inside  bay.  The  larger  is  called  Tem- 
ple Bay,  though  it  is  often  mistaken  for  Chateau  proper.  Henley 
Harbor  is  a  small  harbor  outside  the  main  bay  and  a  little  to  the 
eastward  of  it.  The  point  of  land  separating  Temple  from  Pitt's 
Bay,  east  of  it,  is  called  Pitt's  point,  just  outside  of  this  is  Whale 
island  which  fills  the  cove  so  closely  that  but  a  very  narrow  entrance 
admits  vessels  to  the  harbor  within,  yet  the  water  is  deep  enough 
here  for  even  large  vessels. 

Whale  island  is  thus  named  from  a  most  extraordinary  resem- 
blance to  the  shape  of  a  whale's  back.  It  can  only  be  seen  from  a 
single  position  (the  foot  of  a  large  hill  said  to  be  seven  hundred 
feet  high)  in  Temple  bay  and  in  a  northwesterly  direction  from  the 


284  WHALE  ISLAND  —  FRENCH  FORTS. 

island.  The  highest  point  on  the  hump  of  the  back  of  this  marine 
granite  monster  was  carefully  measured  and  found  to  be  about  three 
hundred  and  forty-five  feet  above  the  sea  level.  It  would  be  a 
curious  fact  if  the  supposed  basaltic  prisms  of  Castle  island  should 
prove  to  be  only  a  peculiar  formation  of  rocky  cliffs  similar  in  origin 
with  the  other  rock  formations  about  this  part  of  the  coast,  but 
close  investigation  seems  to  show  this  to  be  the  case.  The  crouch- 
ing figures  represented  in  profile  near  this  place  are  truly  remarka- 
ble ;  they  are  figures  of  men,  and  could  hardly  bear  a  closer 
resemblance  to  the  real  objects  if  they  were  indeed  genuine.  One 
of  them,  especially,  so  nearly  resembles  a  person  in  a  crouching 
attitude  as  to  deceive  the  keenest  eye  if  watched  in  the  most  favor- 
able light,  and  well  do  these  stony  sentinels  maintain  their  ceaseless 
vigil,  year  by  year,  century  by  century. 

The  forts,  located  here,  —  reirmants  of  the  old  wars  which  exter- 
minated the  Indians  and  Esquimaux  residing  on  the  coast,  with  the 
white  settlers  then  temporarily  residing  here  also,  —  are  objects  of 
great  interest.  At  one  time  their  outlines  were  quite  distinctly 
traceable,  and  even  their  internal  structure  well  planed  out,  but 
time  has  effaced  nearly  everything  but  the  merest  outlines  of  their 
positions,  which  are  now  barely  sufficient  to  enable  one  to  deter- 
mine their  site.  The  fort  at  Henley  seems  to  be  the  larger,  more 
important,  and  more  distinctly  outlined  of  the  two ;  the  one  at 
Temple  bay  the  more  accessible.  At  the  latter  place  we  dug  up 
canister  and  grape  shot  in  abundance  and  could  undoubtedly  have 
procured  a  large  variety  of  articles  had  we  spent  some  time  there. 
The  situation  of  this  fort  was  the  summit  of  a  huge  hill  the  basal 
point  of  which  was  the  separating  line  between  Temple  and  Cha- 
teau bays.  On  the  southeastern  side  of  the  slope  we  found  and 
examined  three  caves,  or  rather  clefts  in  the  rocks,  of  which  local 
tradition,  told  startling  stories  of  robbers,  fierce  animals  and  money, 
which  were  said  to  exist  there.  We  found  no  difficulty  in  "  find- 
ing bottom, "  and  saw  no  cause  for  alarm,  whatever  others  might 
have  feared.  Superstitions  are  abundant  everywhere  on  the  coast  and 
there  were  undoubtedly  those  who  believed  the  various  stories  of 


POPULAR  SUPERSTITIONS— HOUSES.  285 

dragons,  blackmen,  and  lobsters  with  terrible  claws,  who  were  said 
to  guard  treasures  of  inestimable  value  in  these  and  other  abodes 
of  foxes  and  weasels.  People  told  us  of  a  large  stone  monument  or 
house  about  three  miles  inland  said  to  have  been  built  by  parties 
from  a  man-of-war  who  entered  the  harbor  secretly,  some  years 
since,  by  night,  and  proceeded  inland  for  some  mysterious  pur- 
pose. One  man,  I  am  told,  declared  solemnly,  that  they  came  for 
"  buried  treasures, "  and  built  this  "  stone  house  "  to  guard  the 
remainder  until  they  should  come  for  it.  Undoubtedly  it  was 
done  by  the  sailors  to  excite  this  very  superstition.  They  succeeded 
admirably. 

Between  the  hill  containing  the  fort  and  the  opposite  height  west- 
ward, is  a  most  beautifully  formed  glacial  ridge  and  slide.  Seaward 
it  is  more  or  less  abrupt  and  precipitous  though  I  should  judge  not 
'over  forty  feet  high.  Towards  the  bay  it  slopes  evenly  and  smoothly 
to  the  water.  On  this  slope  the  houses  are  built.  They  are  like 
other  houses  on  the  coast,  with  a  single  peculiarity  in  the  shape  of 
the  fireplace.  This  was  a  hearth  of  some  iron  piece,  usually  the 
sides  of  an  old  iron  stove,  a  back  fireboard  of  a  similar  character, 
while  the  remainder  of  the  chimney  was  of  wood  and  formed  part 
of  the  house  proper.  Why  the  blazing,  roaring,  crackling  hearth  fire 
that  I  often  saw  did  not  burn  the  house  down  I  cannot  well  see. 
An  iron  frame,  made  like  an  old-fashioned  steelyards,  hung  over  the 
fire,  the  hooks  of  which  could  be  raised  or  lowered  at  will,  with 
two  hooks  (if  I  remember  correctly)  upon  which  were  hung  the 
kettles  —  here  all  the  cooking  of  the  family  was  done.  One  house- 
wife showed  me  with  great  exultation,  how  nicely  the  bread  kettle 
hung  over  the  fire.  I  thought  that  if  a  modern  mother  was  obliged 
to  bake  the  quantity  of  bread  weekly  that  this  mother  did  and  in 
such  a  primitive  manner,  she  would  show  the  arrangement  with 
anything  but  satisfaction. 

At  one  point  in  Temple  bay  I  visited  a  mine  of  white  mica  that 
was  just  opened.  It  was  romantically  situated  about  150  feet  above 
the  sea  and  by  the  side  of  a  winding  brook,  that  tumbled  down 
among  the  confusion  of  loose  rocks  below  and  abounded  in  trout. 


286  MINERALS. 


The  mica,  though  very  pure,  was  only  in  very  small  pieces.  The 
rock  in  which  it  occurred  seemed  to  be  a  gigantic  bowlder  rather 
than  a  rock  in  place. 

While  on  the  subject  of  minerals  I  will  say  that  at  Dead  Island, 
some  miles  farther  north,  a  party  of  miners  boarded  us,  but  did  not 
remain  long.  On  our  whole  trip  along  the  coast  we  found  quite  a 
number  of  minerals,  but  none  in  quantities  sufficient  to  pay  for  be- 
ing worked.  We  found  a  mica  mine  at  Dead  Island,  also,  but  it 
did  not  appear  to  be  so  good  even,  as  that  at  Temple  bay.  At 
another  locality  one  of  the  party  found  a  quarry  of  very  poor  Labra- 
dorite  of  the  black  variety  ;  we  obtained  a  few  pieces  only.  Every- 
where granite  rock  predominated.  In  one  locality  veins  of  quartz 
and  mica  alternating  in  thin  layers,  one  above  the  other,  extended 
for  some  distance  in  several  directions,  bounded,  I  believe,  by  gran- 
ite also.  White  and  black  mica  were  abundant  everywhere,  but  in 
small  pieces.  Tourmaline  of  the  black  variety  was  not  rare  and 
several  remarkably  finely  terminated  crystals  were  procured.  Some 
fine  rubellite  was  also  found.  Copper  pyrite  was  common,  as  was 
also  iron  pyrite  ;  sulphide  of  iron  was  very  abundant :  several  pieces 
of  apatite  were  found  ;  a  large  amount  of  galena  and  in  one  locality 
molybdenite,  the  latter  probably  in  no  very  great  amount.  Poor 
labradorite  in  various  forms  and  color ;  quite  large  but  very  brittle 
garnets ;  argentiferous  lead  in  small  quantities ;  quartz  very  clear 
and  glassy  ;  feldspar  of  various  colors  ;  and  occasionally  greenstone 
like  Pike's  Peak  greenstone,  wrongly  called  labradorite,  was 
found.  With  this  brief  account  of  the  mineralogy  of  the  region  let 
us  pass  to  other  and  more  important  subjects. 

At  Temple  bay  we  spent  considerable  time  dredging,  and  brought 
up  many  curious  and  rare  specimens  from  the  bottom  of  the  bay. 
A  large,  bright  red  holothurian  or  sea-cucumber,  seemed  particularly 
common  to  this  bay,  while  the  smaller  varieties  also  abounded. 
Shells  of  many  kinds  were  dredged  without  number  and  at  every 
haul  of  the  dredge  the  shrimps  and  crustaceans  seemed  equally 
abundant.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  a  dredging  party  that  took  place 
one  evening  in  this  same  bay.     We  started  out  from  the  vessel  di- 


DREDGING  —  AURORA  —  PHOSPHORESCENCE.  287 

rectly  after  supper,  and  rowed  across  the  bay  nearly  to  the  opposite 
side,  then,  letting  down  our  dredge,  we  began  our  work.  That 
night  we  secured  a  most  strange  collection  of  objects.  Our  buck- 
ets were  quickly  filled  with  the  profusion  of  material  that  was  pro- 
cured, and  we  were  soon  obliged  to  row  back  to  the  ship  and  get 
more  pails  and  buckets.  Occasionally,  when  too  near  shore,  we 
would  bring  up  a  dredge,  full  to  the  top,  of  spiny  sea  urchins  or 
echini  among  which  an  occasional  star-fish  or  holothurian  would 
be  found ;  in  such  cases  we  were  obliged  to  empty  the  net  over- 
board and  make  a  new  haul. 

In  the  midst  of  our  work,  when  we  had  nearly  filled  our  buckets 
and  pails  with  rich  material,  to  be  looked  over  in  the  morning,  sud- 
denly a  most  brilliant  Aurora  gathered  in  the  heavens.  It  gathered 
itself  as  if  it  were  an  immense  snake,  and  with  many  undulations 
seemed  to  coil  and  recoil  itself  to  make  room  for  the  enormous 
length  with  which  it  spanned  the  heavens  and  reached  almost  di- 
rectly over  our  heads,  from  horizon  to  horizon.  It  was  broad  and 
of  a  most  intense  white.  It  undulated  like  a  ribbon,  and  changed 
its  form  continually,  sometimes  concentrating  much  like  an  immense 
drop,  then  as  suddenly  lengthening  again.  Then  its  direction  would 
change  from  northeast  and  northwest  to  nearly  east  and  west. 

While  these  contortions  were  attracting  our  attention  in  the  heav- 
ens, another  peculiar  phenomenon  was  beginning  to  appear  in  the 
water,  which  suddenly  became  magnetized  as  it  were  to  an  unusual 
degree,  and  that  most  remarkable  occuiTence  of  phosphorescence 
began  to  display  itself  in  a  most  intense  degree.  I  have  never  seen 
it  so  beautiful  and  so  luminous.  We  had  now  reached  the  side  of 
the  ship,  and  every  dash  of  the  oar  sent  large,  whirling  eddies  of  fire 
off  at  our  right  and  left.  The  boat  left  a  long,  luminous  wake,  like 
the  reflection  in  the  water  of  the  auroral  ribbon  above.  A  dash  of 
the  oar  would  cover  the  surface  with  bubbles  of  fire,  while,  occasion- 
ally, large  disks  of  the  same  would  sail  by  apparently  ten  or  fifteen  feet 
below  the  surface,  we  could  not  touch  them  with  our  oar,  though  that 
was  twelve  feet  long.  We  all  sat  up  some  time  watching  these  cu- 
rious appearances,  and  each  decided  that  they  were  the  most  beauti- 


288  ICEBERGS— FOX  HARBOR. 

ful  that  they  had  ever  witnessed.  We  caught  a  huge  ball  of  fire  on 
our  dredge  rope,  and  hauled  it  in.  It  was  placed  in  a  small  can  of 
water  and  found  to  be  one  of  the  jelly  fishes,  with  which,  in  the 
daytime,  the  water  abounded.  It  was  nearly  an  inch  long.  Is  it 
possible  that  these  animals,  large  and  small,  are  luminous  to  such 
an  extreme  degree  ? 

After  remaining  for  several  days  in  Chateau  we  left  it  for  our 
next  port  north.  We  had  no  more  than  cleared  the  land  and  taken 
our  course  than  the  fog  shut  down  upon  us  again,  thick  and  heavy. 
We  kept  steadily  onward,  however,  but  soon  found  we  were 
rushing  into  a  tremendous  ice  mass.  The  vessel's  course  was  changed 
just  as  an  immense  ice  tower,  between  two  and  three  hundred  feet  in 
height,  surged  by  us  with  a  velocity  that  would  have  crushed  us  in- 
stantly had  we  struck  it ;  another  and  another  followed,  and  we  be- 
gan to  fear  for  our  lives,  but  soon,  by  good  fortune,  the  fog  lifted 
and  we  sighted  Belle  Isle,  turning  our  prow,  then,  to  a  similar 
course  northward,  to  that  which  we  had  been  steering  eastward,  we 
were,  by  evening  of  the  same  day,  quietly  anchored  at  Fox  harbor, 
where  we  passed  a  most  comfortable  night. 

Fox  Harbor  is  one  of  the  principal  harbors  of  St.  Lewis  Sound, 
and  just  north  of  Cape  Charles.  It  is  a  large  indentation,  and  con- 
tains several  very  important  harbors,  the  most  so  being  Battle  Island, 
often  called  the  Boston  of  Labrador.  St.  Lewis  inlet  runs  a  long 
way  into  the  interior  of  the  country  and  is  navigable  nearly  its  whole 
length  of  some  twenty  to  thirty  miles,  I  believe.  We  did  consider- 
able dredging  here,  and  produced  capital  results. 

I  think  that  it  was  on  Saturday,  Aug.  12,  that  we  arrived  at  Fox 
Harbor,  and  glad  enough  were  we  to  be  in  safe  anchorage,  once 
more,  while  the  fog  continued  to  settle  upon  us.  The  next  three 
days  were  quite  pleasant  however,  and  we  made  the  most  of  them. 
Everybody  on  board  started  in  the  boats  for  a  tour  of  investiga- 
tion on  shore.  Here,  at  length,  we  had  struck  a  real  semi-arctic 
habitation,  inhabited  by  Indians,  Esquimaux,  and  several  half-breed 
families.  The  houses  were  similar,  but  poorer,  than  those  we  had 
seen  all  along  the  coast.     The  children  were  everywhere  followed 


DOGS  —  IMPLEMENTS  —  DREDGING.  289 

with  troups  of  dogs,  but  they  were  not  savage,  being  mainly  pure 
Newfoundland  and  a  race  of  large  Indian  dogs.  Several  of  these 
dogs  were  brought  home  by  various  parties  on  board,  and  have 
since  thrived  well,  excepting  the  two  Indian  hunting  dogs,  pure 
breed,  which,  I  understand,  have  since  died.  A  peculiarity  of  these 
dogs  is  said  to  be  the  fact,  that  they  will  gorge  themselves,  and 
carry  food  for  a  long  time  in  their  stomachs  untouched  by  the  gastric 
Juice,  disgorging  it  from  time  to  time  for  their  young.  One  man 
affirmed  that  he  had  known  them  to  keep  food  in  this  way  for  two 
days,  throwing  it  up  in  the  apparently  perfect  condition  of  fresh 
meat,  upon  which  young  puffins  fed  greedily. 

Our  men  returned  to  the  vessel  loaded  with  spears,  bows  and 
arrows,  komatik  whips,  sealskin  boots  and  mittens,  and  several 
finely  spotted  skins.  One  of  the  party  procured  the  tusks  of  a  young 
walrus,  two  of  these  animals  having  been  killed  by  the  natives  the 
previous  winter.  They  told  me  here  that  this  animal  though  occa- 
sionally seen  about  this  part  of  the  coast  was  rarely  captured. 
Upon  inquiring  I  found  that  no  white  bears  had  been  seen  here  for 
several  years. 

Across  the  harbor  lies  Battle  Island,  on  the  eastern  side  of  which 
is  Battle  Harbor.  It  is  a  village  of  about  fifty  houses,  and  a  place  of 
much  importance  upon  the  coast.  A  mail  steamer  calls  every  fort- 
night and  returns  directly  to  St.  Johns.  It  is  a  fishing  community, 
and  does  not  differ  much  from  the  settlements  at  Red  Bay  or  Blanc 
Sablon. 

We  did  some  good  work  at  Fox  Harbor  dredging,  and  this 
was  the  only  place  where  we  found  squids,  although  they  doubtless 
occur  more  or  less  abundantly  at  nearly  or  quite  every  harbor. 
Another  peculiarity  of  our  finds  here  was  the  immense  number 
of  small  Crustacea,  sandfleas  and  worms,  that  were  everywhere 
abundant  under  rocks  and  in  pools  of  water  wherever  we 
searched  for  them.  Here,  too,  as  at  other  places,  we  dredged  sev- 
eral Terebratula,  but  found  them  generally  rare.  One  of  our 
party  secured  a  most  beautiful  and  magnificent  large  salmon  trout 
nearly  two  feet  long. 
19 


290  SQUARE  ISLAND  AND  VICINITY. 

Leaving  Fox  harbor  we  passed  Mecklenburg  harbor  but  did 
not  enter  it,  as  it  was  not  of  sufficient  consequence ;  we  also 
passed  St.  Frances  harbor,  the  mouth  of  the  Alexis  River,  naviga- 
ble for  about  twenty  miles  inland,  and  said  to  present  as  beautiful 
scenery  as  any  harbor  along  the  coast,  while  the  intricacies  of  its 
mouth  being  as  complex  as  any  river  south  of  Rigoulette,  and 
steered  for  St.  Michaels  and  Square  Island,  the  next  place  of  in- 
terest, where  we  stopped  over  night.  We  anchored  at  the  farther 
end  of  the  harbor,  and  a  most  beautiful  and  picturesque  little  spot 
it  was.  This  place  is  named  Square  Island  from  the  large  almost 
square  island  which  nearly  blocks  the  entrance  to  the  harbor. 
We  entered  through  a  very  shallow  and  narrow  passage,  crossed 
the  harbor,  and  were  soon  anchored  in  a  sequestered  little  spot  safe 
from  everything  save  those  intolerable  torments  the  blackflies  and 
mosquitoes.  The  houses  here  looked  more  like  the  nests  of  an 
army  of  cliif  swallows  than  anything  else  that  I  can  imagine  ;  they 
were  perched  everywhere  on  the  high  rocks  close  to  the  cHffs,  and 
looked  as  if  glued  to  them,  so  closely  did  they  stand ;  and  so  near  the 
color  of  the  rocks  were  the  weathered  boards  and  boughs  of  which 
they  were  composed,  while  so  snug  was  the  harbor,  that  one  might 
have  hunted  for  weeks  for  the  location,  did  he  not  know  it  from 
previous  visitation,  and  then  have  passed  it  without  discovering  the 
entrance  passage,  while  high  cliffs  everywhere  surrounded  it.  A 
party  went  over  to  Nolan's  harbor,  a  few  miles  distant,  and  met 
Capt.  Fitzgerald,  of  Harbor  Grace,  Newfoundland,  who  oversees 
quite  a  fishery  at  this  point ;  but  one  place  so  closely  resembles 
another  on  this  part  of  the  coast,  that  the  intricacies  of  bays,  coves, 
islands,  and  narrow  passages  of  water  present  every  possible  shape, 
size,  and  form  of  harbor.  It  is,  in  fact,  like  the  "  Bower  of  Fair 
Rosamond,"  in  which  one  would  easily  lose  one's  self  without  the 
help  of  a  most  skilful  pilot. 

On  Thursday  we  left  Square  Island  and  sailed  to  Dead  Island,  a 
lew  miles  north  only  of  our  former  position,  and  found  quite  a  com- 
munity of  fishermen  living  here.    The  inhabitants  were  chiefly  sum- 


WHAT  WE  DREDGED.  291 

mer  visitors  from  Newfoundland,  engaged  in  the  herring  fisheries. 
They  had  quite  a  good  catch,  and  were  about  preparing  to  return 
home  with  their  cargoes.  The  majority  of  these  fishermen,  we 
found,  were  from  Harbor  Grace,  Newfoundland,  and  we  everywhere 
found  them  a  rough,  tough,  but  not  ill-natured  race,  yet  one  with 
whom  we  did  not  care  to  deal  any  more  than  it  was  found  abso- 
lutely necessary. 

At  Dead  Island  we  produced  some  of  our  best  results  at  dredg- 
ing. The  harbor  was  not  deep,  but  the  seaweed,  with  which  the 
bottom  was  covered,  was  everywhere  full  of  life,  and  covered  with 
shells  and  minute  crustaceans.  In  one  small  pass  to  the  north 
of  which  we  were  anchored,  I  found  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
nests  of  marine  animals  that  I  had  ever  come  across,  either  on  La- 
brador or  in  any  of  the  harbors  of  Massachusetts.  The  water  was 
from  one  to  five  fathoms  deep,  and  clear  as  crystal.  The  bottom 
was  one  large,  magnificent  flower  bed  of  anemones  growing  on  a 
ground  of  red  nullipore  that  covered  everything.  The  extent  of 
this  growth  must  have  been  acres,  and  as  we  sailed  along  in  our 
boat  we  could  see  the  magnificent  animals  as  plainly  as  if  they  had 
been  before  us  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  and  we  could  pick 
them  with  our  hands. 

The  unevenness  of  the  bottom  furnished  a  pleasing  variation  of 
elevations  and  depressions.  Choice  nooks  and  hiding  places,  or 
plains  were  everywhere  interspersed.  Natural  grottoes,  and  varie- 
ties of  rock-work,  all  were  there,  and  all  covered  with  "  red  rock," 
or  "live  rock  "  as  the  people  call  this  peculiar  growth,  probably  the 
red  nullipore  {Lithothaiimion  polymorphuni) ,  and  some  so  heavily 
incrusted  as  to  represent  miniature  shrubs  and  trees  even  by 
theh*  own  incrusted  additions.  Over  this  growth  the  anemone 
(^Metriditmt)  grew  as  luxuriant  as  flowers  reared  in  plant  house 
or  hot-bed,  and  a  most  gorgeous  hot-bed,  even  of  beautiful 
and  rare  tropical  plants  could  not  have  excited  more  admiration. 
I  hauled  up,  with  a  huge  scoop  of  the  dredge,  specimens  whose 
base  measured  ten  and  even  more  inches  across,  and  whose  ex- 


292  SEA  ANEMONES. 


panded  disk  was  nearly  as  wide.  Fringed  tentacle  several  inches 
in  length  would  surround  a  disk  whose  neck  was  more  often  over 
than  under  six  inches  in  length.  When  touched  they  would 
coil  into  a  mass  of  leathery  pulp  as  large  as  a  medium-sized  musk 
melon. 

This  fine  floral  carpet  was  everywhere  interspersed  with  green 
echini,  some  large  as  a  good-sized  sunflower ;  myriads  of  starfish, 
with  yellow,  red,  or  brown  backs  were  basking  in  some  clear  space 
or  curled  up  to  fit  the  surfaces  of  the  rocks  upon  which  they 
lay.  Suddenly  we  came  upon  a  single  bed,  it  must  have  been 
nearly  half  an  acre  in  extent,  in  the  middle  of  the  passage,  where  an 
almost  perfectly  level  spot  appeared  so  covered  with  these  anemones 
that  their  waving  fringes  intermingled  to  hide  the  bottom  and  pre- 
sent a  bed  truly  of  the  most  exquisite  and  fairylike  texture.  Truly 
were  I  to  be  buried  in  the  ocean,  I  could  not  nor  would  I  ask 
for  a  more  enchanting  spot  upon  which  to  rest.  I  am  sure 
that  no  Arabian  Nights'  tale  ever  pictured  a  more  imaginative 
scene  of  splendor,  than  this  simple  bed  of  sea  flowers  —  this  "  wind 
flower"  of  the  water  formed  in  reality. 

We  left  Dead  Island  on  Wednesday  the  23rd,  and  sailing  through 
the  same  narrow  pass,  which  opened  into  a  broad  bay-like  harbor 
beyond  and  a  series  of  intricate  channels,  coves  and  islands,  we  at 
length  reached  Triangle  harbor,  another  of  those  pirate-like  coves 
in  which  the  coast  so  profusely  abounds.  The  harbor  is  well  shel- 
tered from  the  seas,  but  hard  to  enter,  being  narrow  and  shallow. 
High  hills  and  cliffs  are  all  about  it,  the  highest  point,  on  the 
right,  being  a  hill  with  lofty  sides  extending  perpendicularly 
nearly  to  its  very  crest,  which  is  about  three  hundred  and  eighty 
feet  above  the  sea.  We  threw  stones  from  this  crest  into  the  sea 
and  found  that  the  top  receded,  from  a  point  that  overhung  the 
water  about  midway  of  this  height,  so  much  that  the  stones  we 
threw  with  all  our  force  fell  into  the  water  behind  the  cliff  and  con- 
sequently out  of  our  sight.  Back  from  the  hill  grew  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  vegetation,  while  a  small  but  deep  pond,  partially  sur- 


END  OF  VOYAGE.  293 


rounded  with  high  cliffs,  afforded  us  a  most  excellent  opportunity  for 
a  fine  bath  in  not  too  cold  fi-esh  water.  The  pond  was  one  of  a  series, 
doubtless  extending  way  into  the  interior  and  forming  the  head 
waters  of  some  stream  that  flowed  to  the  sea  in  one  of  the  neigh- 
boring fiord  valleys,  abundant  here  also.  At  this,  our  final  post 
north,  we  secured  capital  results  with  the  dredge,  though  we  found 
a  clayey  and  muddy  bottom,  which,  I  recollect,  gave  us  great  trouble 
to  strain  in  our  sieves.  Black  bears  are  abundant  in  these  parts, 
I  was  told,  and  the  very  morning  after  our  arrival  one  was  seen 
perched  on  the  summit  of  a  huge  cliff  above  us.  It  was  pursued 
by  the  natives  but  not  captured. 

At  length,  on  Friday  the  25  th,  we  started  for  home,  as  our  time 
of  absence  had  already  nefrly  expired.  We  stopped  at  Fox  har- 
bor on  our  way  back,  and  the  next  day  had  a  most  excellent  run 
of  about  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  to  Bonne  Esperance  where 
we  remained  over  Sunday  and  Monday. 

At  Bonne  we  found  a  new  machine  in  operation  for  the  conversion 
of  the  refuse  of  cod  and  other  fish  into  a  sort  of  fish  guano.  Sev- 
eral barrels  had  been  sent  to  the  United  States  to  be  analyzed  and 
tried  for  mixture  with  other  materials  for  a  soluble  guano  for  the 
land  and  crops,  but  I  am  not  informed  as  to  whether  it  was  a  suc- 
cess or  not. 

Monday  night,  for  our  benefit,  the  natives  performed  a  Labrador, 
or  rather  Newfoundland  dance,  at  one  of  the  native  cabins  near 
by.  A  crowd  of  about  thirty  assembled  and  danced  till  nearly 
morning.  Their  main  object  seemed  to  be  to  "  start  the  sweat, 
and  see  who  could  make  the  most  noise.  "  It  seemed  as  if  the 
very  house  would  come  down  over  our  heads  as  they  hammered 
on  the  floor  with  their  top-legged  boots  pounding  with  the  full  force 
of  their  powers  :  this  serenade  to  the  departing  guests  closed  our 
sight-seeing  upon  the  Labrador  Coast,  while  the  hearty  good-bye 
of  Mr.  Whiteley,  the  magistrate,  compensated  for  all  bad  weather 
and  mishaps  that  we  had  previously  experienced  as  we  slowly 
spread  sail  and  started  for  home. 


294 


NATIVE  INDIAN   DIALECT. 


The  following  brief  Indian  vocabulary  will  give  a  slight  dew  to 
that  most  obscure  yet  interesting  language  of  the  Labrador  Indians, 
as  spoken  all  along  the  coast. 

AMONG  THE  NUMERALS. 


1  pay  yuck. 

7  nish  wash. 

2  nesh. 

8  nursh  wash 

• 

3  nurst. 

9  pay-er  coush. 

4  nao. 

10  pay-er  cannou. 

6  pertater. 

20  nesh  ennou 

• 

6  goot  wash. 

30  nurst  ennou. 

OTHER 

WORDS. 

and, 

ash-shoo. 

no, 

mar  watch. 

I,  me, 

nin. 

yes. 

topway. 

you, 

tin. 

what. 

chaquin. 

he, 

win. 

water, 

nee-pe. 

that, 

ne-ya. 

spirits,  liquor, 

skutee-wabee. 

all  of  us  (we), 

cassino. 

an  axe, 

eustache. 

money, 

soumentish. 

salmon, 

oush-a-muck. 

quick, 

sellerpe. 

trout, 

meta-muck. 

girl, 

squish. 

cod. 

ohm-zhee. 

boy. 

nowpee. 

seal, 

ar-chook. 

mother, 

naga. 

deer, 

atchick. 

give, 

perta. 

martin. 

wabistan. 

I  go  with  you 

,  mu  pou  shoo. 

meat. 

mee-ash. 

how  much. 

ten  ash  push. 

butter. 

tootoosh  pimme 

ship, 

jonne  push. 

milk, 

tootoosh  ackee. 

come  on. 

stamraetay. 

pork, 

coocoosh. 

goon, 

mate. 

lard. 

pimme. 

canoe, 

oushe. 

Note.  The  other  important  locaUties  on  the  Labrador  Peninsula  are  as 
follows :  — 

Hamilton  Inlet  (Ivucktoke)  which  extends  about  ninety  navigable  miles  in 
a  westerly  direction.  Its  entrance  is  a  wide  bay  which  is  succeeded  by  lake- 
like expansions  of  this  same  inlet  connected  by  narrow  passes  or  channels.     In 


NOTE. 


295 


the  first  channel,  or  "  the  narrows,"  as  it  is  called,  are  Indian  Village  and  Rig- 
oulette,  —  the  latter  the  most  important  station  hereabouts;  and  formerly,  I 
believe,  if  not  now,  connected  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The  river, 
which  flows  into  this  inlet  and  is  called  by  the  natives  Esquimaux  river,  is 
the  largest  and  most  important  in  all  Labrador.  It  is  the  terminus  of  the 
French  and  English  settlements  on  the  coast :  below  it  the  Dutch  and  Esquimaux 
are  the  chief  and  more  often  the  only  inhabitants,  to  Ungava  Bay  itself  which 
borders  the  entrance  to  Hudson's  Bay. 

These  almost  mongrel  inhabitants  are  known  chiefly  by  the  names  of  their 
villages,  as  the  people  of  Umiakkoviktanuk  or  Cape  Strawberry,  which  is  some 
1 200  feet  above  the  sea,  in  the  background  of  which  is  Altagaiyaivik  or  Monkey 
Hill,  said  to  be  over  2000  feet  high.  Next  comes  a  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany at  Aillik,  and  one  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  bay  at  Kaipokok.  Towards 
the  sea  are  the  Gull  rocks,  called  by  the  musical  (?)  name  of  Nanyaktikiluk, 
and  farther  along  Gull  island  or  Nanyaksigaluk.  On  the  mainland  nearly 
opposite  Gull  island  comes  the  important  Mission  station  of  Hopedale.  Be- 
low this  is  Nain,  the  next  important  Moravian  mission.  East  of  Nain  is 
Tunnulusoak  or  Pownal  or  Paul  Island,  the  place  so  often  quoted  as  abound- 
ing in  Labradorite.  Okkuk,  followed  by  Port  Manvers  and  Hebron,  other 
missionary  stations  follow  while  Cape  Chudleigh  (or  Chidley  as  some  give  it) 
forms  the  northern  terminus,  from  which  this  promontory  descends  to  Un- 
gava Bay  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Labrador  Peninsula.  Of  the  interior  of 
this  vast  plateau  little  or  nothing  is  known.  The  blackflies  and  mosquitoes  form 
an  almost  impassable  barrier  to  investigation;  try  it  once  and  you  will  thor- 
oughly believe  it. 


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